Right Turn: Everybody loves infographics (right?)!

Author: Stacey Johnson, 05/17/13

. Inspired by the first Right Turn featuring a regenerative medicine infographic, Signals Blog is holding a contest to seek the best original (i.e. not previously published) stem cell or regenerative medicine infographics out there! We’re keeping the subject matter broad to see how creative you are. We’re looking for the following: Scientific accuracy Skill…Read more

To the stars and beyond: Assessing the impact of the $100 Genome

Author: Natasha Davie, 05/16/13

We live in a time of extraordinary medical advances. So far in 2013, we’ve seen the successful transplantation of a bioengineered kidney into rats, an infant reportedly cured of HIV using anti-retroviral drugs that are currently on the market, and discovered a protein that has the potential to ‘reverse aging’ in the heart. These ‘small…Read more

Using stem cells to cure… extinction?

Author: Peter Raaymakers, 05/15/13

In last week’s Right Turn, we talked about how stem cells are responsible for the colours and patterns of bird feathers—and birds, as the graphic on the right demonstrates, are basically just tiny dinosaurs. Given that there is much promise in stem cell research (and also a great deal of hype), it makes one wonder:…Read more

Right Turn: Feathers as an example of stem cell complexity

Author: Lisa Willemse, 05/10/13

Pea Hen Feather. Credit: Bill Gracey The arrival of summer’s songbirds to much of Canada over the past month makes this a fitting time to talk about feathers. Coincidentally, a paper was released in Science in late April that revealed how stem cells function to create an incredible array of colours and patterns in bird…Read more

Right Turn: Parents breathe sigh of relief after windpipe surgery success

Author: Stacey Johnson, 05/03/13

. It was big news this week when doctors at Children’s Hospital of Illinois performed the first successful pediatric transplant in the U.S. of a regenerated trachea using a synthetic scaffold. The Canadian father and Korean mother of two-year-old Hannah Genevieve Warren are delighted that their daughter, born without a windpipe, now has one grown…Read more

At the forefront of biomaterial research

Author: Roshan Yoganathan, 05/01/13

. The work by Joe Landolina and Suneris Inc., highlighted by Stacey Johnson in her recent post, helps bring to the forefront the industry’s motivation to utilize “smart biomaterials”. The Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine has been researching smart biomaterials that could be used to treat soldiers injured in the field. Photo: Flickr Commons…Read more

The importance of unequal division in stem cells

Author: David Kent, 04/30/13

. Stem cells must strike a balance between different types of divisional outcomes in order to provide the correct numbers and types of cells for the lifetime of an organism. At each cell division, a stem cell either makes two replicates of itself to expand the population (a self-renewal division), makes two highly proliferating cells…Read more

Right Turn: A tail is a tail. Or is it?

Author: Lisa Willemse, 04/26/13

. Entire limb or organ regeneration is held out to be the holy grail of regenerative medicine. As an example, we look to certain reptiles such as salamanders, geckos and lizards, which have the incredible ability to regrow limbs or tails. Lots has been written on what we currently know about limb regeneration and whether…Read more

Ask, Ask, Ask: The views of patients and the public should inform stem cell treatments and research

Author: Lisa Willemse, 04/25/13

Co-authored with Geoff Lomax, CIRM’s Senior Officer to the Standards Working Group from the “Understanding Stem Cell Controversies” Workshop organized by the Stem Cell Network in Montreal. This article is cross-posted on the CIRM blog. The afternoon session on Day 2 at the Understanding Stem Cell Controversies workshop began picking apart the complex relationship between research…Read more

Stem cell tourism, safe, effective & routine? Not so much.

Author: Lisa Willemse, 04/24/13

Co-authored with Geoff Lomax, CIRM’s Senior Officer to the Standards Working Group from the “Understanding Stem Cell Controversies” Workshop organized by the Stem Cell Network in Montreal. This article is cross-posted on the CIRM blog. Dr. Harry Atkins speaking at Understanding Stem Cell Controversies in Montreal. “Stem cell tourism” “medical tourism” “unproven cell therapies” –…Read more