One of the big concerns among scientists - including many at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) conference in Vancouver, Canada – is that patient expectations about stem cells are often greater than researchers are able to deliver today. That can result in patients in search of a cure heading to overseas clinics … Continue reading When Hope Runs up against Reality: Balancing Patient Optimism with Medical Evidence
ISSCR2014
When Hope Runs up against Reality: Balancing Patient Optimism with Medical Evidence
One of the big concerns among scientists - including many at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) conference in Vancouver, Canada – is that patient expectations about stem cells are often greater than researchers are able to deliver today. That can result in patients in search of a cure heading to overseas clinics … Continue reading When Hope Runs up against Reality: Balancing Patient Optimism with Medical Evidence
ISSCR 2014: Tony Atala, Jason Burdick and the Power of Tissue Engineering
The progress in tissue engineering in just the past two decades has been like the construction industry moving from simple lean-to structures to homes with plumbing, heating and cooling systems. We are not yet ready to build a high-rise—think of a beating functioning heart—but we are making major strides toward that goal. One of the … Continue reading ISSCR 2014: Tony Atala, Jason Burdick and the Power of Tissue Engineering
ISSCR 2014: Lorenz Studer talks Parkinson’s cells
Two presentations at the International Society for Stem Cell (ISSCR) conference, from two different sides of the pond, looked at ways to get stem cell therapies out of the lab and into patients. They both focused on the problems that need to be overcome, but came to the positive conclusion that this could be done. … Continue reading ISSCR 2014: Lorenz Studer talks Parkinson’s cells
ISSCR 2014: If we learn how to help our stem cells keep their balance we might reduce the effects of aging
The effects of aging come from a decline in our stem cells’ ability to do their job. Four speakers on the second day of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) conference laid out how this happens and showed the results of some early attempts to make our aging stem cells perform like young … Continue reading ISSCR 2014: If we learn how to help our stem cells keep their balance we might reduce the effects of aging
ISSCR 2014: Talking Twitter and Stem Cells
One of the fascinating things about the ISSCR (International Society for Stem Cell Research) annual conference is that you learn so much about so many things, ranging from the latest in Parkinson’s research (more on that later this week) to the impact of social media on people’s knowledge about stem cells. At a poster presentation … Continue reading ISSCR 2014: Talking Twitter and Stem Cells
ISSCR 2014: Learning how we developed as embryos key to turning stem cells into the tissues patients need
The concept that basic lab bench science produces discoveries that eventually lead to therapies is a touchstone of the research enterprise—and the principal was front and center in the opening “presidential” plenary session of the International Society for Stem Cell Research Wednesday afternoon. Three of the four presenters relied in part on a subset of … Continue reading ISSCR 2014: Learning how we developed as embryos key to turning stem cells into the tissues patients need
International Stem Cell Conference Opens with Public Quest to Sort the Real from the Bogus
While the scientific sessions of the International Society for Stem Cell Research don’t begin until this morning, the meeting started last night with one of its most important events: a panel discussion for patient advocates and other members of the public. After presentations by the five speakers it became clear that the dichotomy between real … Continue reading International Stem Cell Conference Opens with Public Quest to Sort the Real from the Bogus
The Stem Cellar 