CRISPR and Rejuvenation Biotechnology: have you been hiding under a rock?

by David Brindley | Sep 9, 2014

. With contributions from James Smith, a recent Oxford University graduate and current SENS Research Foundation Summer Scholar working at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.   ‘Bay Area biotechnology’ is a description that conjures images of the proud Hoover Tower...

Right Turn: Like a kid’s science show, but for grownups

by Stacey Johnson | Sep 5, 2014

. Jordan Green, a biomedical engineer from Johns Hopkins, has a way with words. And toys. He’s like a Mister Rogers (American) or Mr. Dressup (Canadian) for adults. He has a complicated idea to convey, so borrowing from the best children’s entertainers around, he uses...

Holding institutions responsible for research misconduct: The recent case of a death of stem cell scientist

by Guest | Sep 2, 2014

Written by Dr. Zubin Master, Assistant Professor at the Alden March Bioethics Institute, Albany Medical College and Research Associate at the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute. This article is being published simultaneously on the Alden March Bioethics...

Right Turn: Lego Academics bring you into their world

by Peter Raaymakers | Aug 29, 2014

> Earlier this summer, building toy makers Lego released the Research Institute: A new set that featured female minifigures in science professions, including a paleontologist, astronomer and chemist. The set may have been a response to a young girl’s plea for...

Is the academy worse than the fashion industry for “following the leader”?

by David Kent | Aug 27, 2014

This post originally appeared on The Black Hole blog and is reprinted with permission from the author and University Affairs. I hate to admit this, but I find an incredible number of scientific papers really boring. It seems that more and more, research papers are...

Right Turn: What do stem cells, ice and ALS have in common?

by Stacey Johnson | Aug 22, 2014

. You have to be living under a rock – or perhaps spending every minute of your time culturing your cells – to be unaware of the ALS #Icebucketchallenge. Since it began on July 29 on social media, the American ALS Association has raised millions (nearly $42 million at...

Inside a cancer stem cell researcher’s toolbox: Xenotransplantation

by Sara M. Nolte | Aug 19, 2014

> In previous posts, I have alluded to the fact that studying cancer in a dish (in vitro) is not optimal (here and here). Today, I give you the next essential tool in a cancer stem cell (CSC) researcher’s toolbox: xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation is an...

Update from the Clinic: July

by Mark Curtis | Aug 18, 2014

. Welcome to your Update from the Clinic for the month of July. The cancer stem cell companies were back in the news last month. OncoMed initiated its ALPINE clinical trial of Tarextumab for pancreatic cancer, while Stemline Therapeutics announced an investigational...

Right Turn: The creative process

by Lisa Willemse | Aug 15, 2014

I’m starting this post with an image that more or less sums up my life over the past two weeks, which has been rather intensely focused on creativity. This was the second time I traveled to Banff to be part of the Science Communications program at the Banff...

Regenerative Medicine Deal Review: July

by Mark Curtis | Aug 11, 2014

. Welcome to your deal review for the month of July. There was financing activity this past month as StemCells and Fate Therapeutics each secured $20 million in funding. Bluebird bio was busy with the acquisition of a privately-held genome editing company; clearly a...