A disclaimer: this work was not funded by CIRM, nor does it directly have to do with stem cell research. It is, however, extremely cool, and strikes close to home. I spent hours as an undergrad slicing off the limbs of newts and marveling as the tiny fingers and toes re-emerged on newly formed limbs. … Continue reading Mouse muscles mimic newt regeneration

The past few days have sent the blogosphere -- especially the anti-embryonic stem cell blogosphere -- abuzz over a story by the Associated Press with the headline "Adult Stem Cell Research Far Ahead of Embryonic." It's true. At this time there are many adult stem cell trials and only one embryonic stem cell trial underway. … Continue reading The competition that isn’t: Adult vs. embryonic stem cells

Hans Keirstead, UC IrvineThe FDA has lifted a clinical hold that has been in place since 2008 on Menlo Park, CA-based Geron's proposed trial for spinal cord injury. The multi-center phase I trial will be the world's first trial of a therapy based on embryonic stem cells. In a press release, the company's president and … Continue reading Geron to begin stem cell trial for spinal cord injury

CIRM grantees at UCLA have captured the first moment when an embryonic stem cell – it of infinite possibilities – chooses a more limited fate. A press release from UCLA says the cell population (which the researchers dubbed human embryonic mesodermal progenitors, or hEMP cells) could be therapeutically useful. The cells still have broad ability … Continue reading Embryonic No More

Two papers in Nature publications have raised questions about whether reprogrammed adult cells, called iPS cells, are truly interchangeable with embryonic stem cells as many have been assuming. The papers found that iPS cells created from different adult tissues still bear some hallmarks of those starting blocks. In a press release, George Daley, who was … Continue reading iPS and embryonic stem cells — similar but not the same

Stanford scientists have overcome one significant hurdle in developing a therapy for muscle-wasting diseases like muscular dystrophy. Until now, the muscle stem cells that stand at the ready to repair muscle damage couldn’t be grown outside the safe confines of a muscle. Once uprooted from their home and transferred to a laboratory dish, they matured … Continue reading Muscle stem cells a step closer to treating muscular dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Southern California disrupted a gene in human blood-forming stem cells and made the cells resistant to infection by HIV. Equally important, the disruption of the gene HIV uses to invade cells did not alter the cells’ stemness; they were able to replicate as stem cells and differentiate into various blood … Continue reading Blood Stem Cells Made Resistant to HIV

By Paul KnoepflerThe two most serious obstacles to regenerative medicine therapies are potential immune rejection of transplanted cells and the possibility that such cells could form a type of tumor called teratoma. CIRM grant recipient and professor of Biology at UC San Diego, Yang Xu, is tackling both of these hurdles. He and his colleagues … Continue reading Reducing teratoma risk from transplanted stem cells

CIRM grantee and UC Davis stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler has an important new entry on his blog: Five simple ways to protect your stem cells. In it he says:If one can prevent a problem for occurring in the first place, it is far better than trying to treat it after the fact. So true. … Continue reading Stem cells and preventive medicine