Don’t be a team player
April 17, 2009
For a number of years I have become increasingly aware, and increasingly annoyed, by the frequency in which people’s opinions are classified, or rather lumped, into discrete groupings. It is as if all the uniqueness of people’s feelings and opinions can somehow be disregarded since it is faster to talk about issues if there are only two possible viewpoints, and only two possible groups that might hold these divergent views.
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I’m curious. Are you?
April 5, 2009
Over the past decade there has been increasing pressure put on biomedical researchers to justify their projects by establishing short term timelines to produce technological or clinical applications. The drive for applicable or “translational” research is in many ways perfectly reasonable. For publically funded research there are limited amounts of tax dollars to go around, and the public is looking for a return on their investment. Also, new technological developments are an economic advantage for the country or region that discovers and brings them to market, so there is a huge financial incentive.
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What is it to be human?
March 16, 2009
Without a doubt the recent lifting of restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research by President Obama has rekindled the debate on the moral and ethical implications of this research. Newscasts, radio call in shows, internet news sites and blogs have been alight with feverish debate. I certainly welcome this debate. As a scientist and a community member I am eager to hear people express their opinions, engage in healthy debate, and hopefully come to a consensus that can be accepted by the majority of people.
Brain tumour following neural stem cell transplant
February 23, 2009
A disturbing case report was published this week in the journal PLOS Medicine. A boy afflicted with ataxia telangiectasia, a rare neurodegenerative condition that affects motor and speech control, had received multiple neural stem cell transplants in a Moscow hospital starting in the year 2001. The transplants involved taking fetal neural stem cells and injecting them into the patient’s brain and spinal cord, in the hope that the cells would integrate properly and alleviate some disease symptoms. By 2005 the boy was suffering from severe headaches with led doctors to investigate and identify abnormal growths in his brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord tumour was subsequently removed, and through a range of genetic tests it was conclusively shown that the tumour originated from the injected stem cells. The stem cells meant to alleviate his condition had in fact developed into life-threatening tumours.
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Time to catch up on your stem cell reading
February 20, 2009
I read an interesting article in Time magazine today. The article “Stem Cell Research: The Quest Resumes” appeared in the February 9th issue of Time, and is freely available on-line. By focusing the story around one prominent researcher who is driven to help his two diabetic children through a stem cell-based therapy, the journalist does a nice job of capturing the very personal nature of research into human disease.
Although brief, the article manages to touch on a number of important topics in stem cell research; the political and scientific repercussions of the current funding restrictions on human ES research, the evolving research around induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), and the methods by which these discoveries may be applied to help patients overcome disease. If you have a minute, check out the article, it’s a nice introduction to the topic of stem cell research for those who need it, yet still contains some interesting facts for those who follow the field a little closer.
The truth hurts
February 12, 2009
The truth often hurts….but everyone seems to prefer a painful truth over a happier, yet more deceptive statement or position. In current politics it seems that at least some of Obama’s popularity is due to the perception that he is presenting a more level, or truthful assessment of the current economic and political issues that are occurring world-wide. Indeed it seems to be part of the political strategy right now to separate the Obama team from past administrations by being completely candid and frank.
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Obama: “We will restore science to its rightful place”
January 29, 2009
Obama’s early indications and actions and indeed his inaugural speech, from which the title of this blog was taken, has scientists and environmentalists in a positive frame of mind.
Another stem cell first: Clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells is approved
January 27, 2009
A biotechnology company from the United States has recently announced that they have received approval to initiate the world’s first clinical trial involving human embryonic stem cells (hES). Geron announced on January 23rd that their application for the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in patients with acute spinal cord injury had been accepted.
Principles of Responsible Translational Stem Cell Research
December 15, 2008
The recent surge of interest in stem cell research has fuelled the hope for a future where today’s discoveries have been translated into patient treatments or cures. A tricky question is how do we know when that future has arrived? When has enough basic research been done to justify clinical trials in human patients and how do we know when enough trials have been done, and the benefits and risks are clear enough, that stem cell therapies can pass clinical trials and be made available to everyone?
Stem cells used to seed trachea transplant
November 26, 2008
In a recent report published in the medical journal The Lancet, European researchers detailed their success in transplanting a trachea, seeded with the patient’s own stem cells, to restore breathing function to a young Columbian woman named Claudia Castillo (left). This discovery is noteworthy because it marks the first time a patient’s own stem cells were used in the reconstruction of their airway. Since the patient’s own cells were used, complications that arise from immune system rejection of the donated tissues were avoided.
Rett Syndrome and induced Pluripotent Stem cells goes “Green”
June 17, 2009 by Aaron Cheung
Stem cell researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children have now devised a method, reported in the scientific journal Nature Methods, that will facilitate the generation of induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells. I have previously blogged about the promise of iPS cells (see related articles). iPS cells are cells which have been reprogrammed from a differentiated somatic cell (such as your skin cells) to a pluripotent stem cell (like an embryonic stem cell, only that you don’t need to use embryos!). The generation of iPS cells is inherently very rare which occurs at a frequency of about 0.01% meaning you can generate about one iPS cell line out of hundred thousand cells. Out of which, many lines fail to satisfy the different rigorous tests necessary to be given the prestigious name of “iPS cell”.
Continue reading Rett Syndrome and induced Pluripotent Stem cells goes “Green”
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