The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: Dr. Christine Mummery joins us to discuss how stem cells are being used for heart disease. Resources and Links CDC Reports Current Flu Vaccine Effectiveness at 23 Percent This Season – A report published estimates that getting a flu vaccine this season reduced a person’s risk of having to go to the doctor because of flu by 23 percent among people of all ages. India’s Tiger Population...

Guest: We talk to Dr. David Piper about disease model tools. Resources and Links Acute Immunomodulatory Effects of Binge Alcohol Ingestion – According to this article, alcohol can wreak havoc on your immune system from the moment you start imbibing. BPA Alternative Disrupts Normal Brain-Cell Growth, Is Tied to Hyperactivity, Study Says – Researchers have shown why the chemical bisphenol-S once tho...

Guest: From the lab of Michel Sadelain, Dr. Maria Themeli talks to us about her work using stem cells to create killer T cells to seek and destroy cancer cells. Resources and Links Fat Isn’t All Bad: Skin Adipocytes Help Protect Against Infections – Researchers report the surprising discovery that fat cells below the skin known as adipocytes help protect us from bacteria. Researchers Target...

Guest: On this episode it’s just me and Yosif talking about a variety of hot papers with topics ranging from F-Class stem cells, wolves are better at math than dogs, the NFL is hating on stem cell transplants, STAP author can’t replicate findings, and there are actual sparks when sperm meets egg. Resources and Links New Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Cures Lab Animals of Disease – A new treatment...

Guest: Dr. Marius Wernig from Stanford University talks about his work with stem cells and his latest paper published in Science Translation on using iPCs to treat a serious skin disorder. Resources and Links How Brain Scans Can Diagnose Autism With 97% Accuracy – A much more objective measure—reading a person’s thoughts through an fMRI brain scan—might be able to diagnose autism with close...

Guest: Dr. Malin Parmar to talk about her latest paper in Cell Stem Cell regarding Parkinson’s disease. This paper is very important and made main stream news everywhere. Resources and Links CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Adds Two New Subatomic Particles to the List – CERN’s researchers have added two new subatomic particles that are six times as massive as protons. Brain Structure Rediscovere...

Guest: Senior editor at Cell Stem Cell, Dr. Christina Lilliehook shares with us what goes on as an editor of a top tier science journal. In addition to a behind the scenes discussion, she also talks about how she got into a career in editing, and what it takes if you wanted to make that career choice. Resources and Links Arachnophobia Gets Cut Out of Man’s Brain after Surgery to End His Seizures –...

Guest: In this episode we welcome Nobel Prize winning scientist, Dr. Harold Varmus. We talk with Dr. Varmus about a range of topics in the realm of biomedical research as a career and the state of NIH funding. Resources and Links Motor Skill Learning Requires Active Central Myelination  – The production of new myelin in the brain, which is a function of non-neuronal glial cells, may be necessary f...

Guest: Dr. Ginger Campbell, host of the brain science podcast, joins the SCP where we discuss her podcast and different “brainy” topics. We close the show ranting about the iPhone 6. Resources and Links Near-Death Experiences? Results of the World’s Largest Medical Study of the Human Mind and Consciousness at Time of Death A Synthetic Stimulant Never Tested in Humans, 1,3-dimethy...

Guest: We bring on freelance science writer Karen Weintraub to discuss her recent piece in the New York Times on stem cells. We talk with her about the contents of her article and what she learned doing the research. We then close the show with a rant on automatic car window openers. Resources and Links Comparing Low-Fat and Low-Carbohydrate Diets An Engineered ​Axl ‘Decoy Receptor’ Ef...

Guest: Dr. Valentina Fossati from the New York Stem Cell Foundation, talks about her recent publication using iPSCs to generate the oligodendrocytes, the cells that myelinate neurons and its implications for multiple sclerosis. Resources and Links Vaccines—Calling the Shots Study Finds Blood Type and Memory Loss Link Textbook Theory Behind Volcanoes May Be Wrong UV Light Can Turn Gene Into Source...

Guest: Dr. Austin Smith from Cambridge UK is on the show to discuss his take on the world of all things pluripotency. We talk about his views on the ground state of pluripotency and how he attempted to drill down into the essential components of the pluripotency network using computer modeling. Resources and Links Gut Bacteria That Protect against Food Allergies Identified A Long Childhood Feeds t...

Guest: Dr. Paul Knoepfler joins us to recap the STAP cell story in the light of the tragic death of Dr. Yoshiki Sasai. We also discuss a wide variety of topics related to publishing in science. Resources and Links Thousand-Strong Robot Swarm Throws Shapes, Slowly SAGE Publications Busts “Peer Review And Citation Ring,” 60 Papers Retracted Could a Dissolvable, Drug-Loaded Tampon Protect against HIV...

Guest: Dr. Marco Seandel from Weill Cornell Medical College joins the hosts to talk about his latest paper published in Stem Cell Reports , where he used sperm stem cells to uncover novel info about mutations in aged male sperm. Resources and Links Learning The Smell Of Fear: Mothers Teach Babies Their Own Fears Via Odor, Animal Study Shows The Habenula Encodes Negative Motivational Value Associat...

Guest: Dr. Daylon James is back on the show to talk about a new paper in Nature where scientists used a vascular niche to help instruct and reprogram endothelial cells to blood stem cells. Resources and Links WHO: Ebola Outbreak Deaths in West Africa hit 603 Friends Are the Family You Choose: Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Genetic Similarities among Friends Oldest Case of Down Syndrome Discovered in...

Guest: This episode presents Dr. Paul Tesar from Case Western Reserve University. Dr Tesar talks about his paper in Cell Stem Cell . Resources and Links Bone Marrow Transplant Could Reverse Sickle Cell In Adults Freezing Testicle Tissue in Mice Offers Fertility Hope for Cancer Survivors Alzheimer’s Linked to Brain Hyperactivity Obesity Linked To Type 2 Diabetes by an Absent Protein New Diabe...

Guest: This is a special episode consisting of over 75 minutes of live interviews. Last week The Stem Cell Podcast attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting and pulled people aside to get their take on the meeting and stem cell research. We compiled all the interviews into one show for you to enjoy. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscri...

Guest: Dr. Dieter Egli from the New York Stem Cell Foundation joins the hosts to talk about his work in using SCNT to derive new embryonic stem cell lines. They discuss his previous and current work, including his latest story published in Nature . Resources and Links Sensing of Amino Acids in a Dopaminergic Circuitry Promotes Rejection of an Incomplete Diet in Drosophila Histone Modifications Are...

The Stem Cell Podcast Hosts Dr. Fasano and Dr. Ganat On this episode we review the Next Gen Stem Cell Conference from earlier in the month.  During the conference we interviewed 5 stem cell scientists live and put them all together for this show.  In addition to these great guests, we review the literature as always. Topics include the biggest sperm ever, C-kit+ stem cells don’t make heart,...

Guest: Dr. Kevin Eggan from Harvard University joins the show to talk about his latest work using stem cells to cure ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease. Resources and Links Fate of iPSCs Derived from Azoospermic and Fertile Men following Xenotransplantation to Murine Seminiferous Tubules Hope for Aging Brains, Skeletal Muscle Pain Curbs Sex Drive in Female Mice, but Not in Males New Virus Related To Smallpo...

Guest: In this episode we talk with the creator and host of The Naked Scientists; a website and podcast dedicated to all things science. We talk with Chris about his shows, and get his take on the stem cell field. Resources and Links House Windows That Double As Solar Panels? Shiny Quantum Dots Brighten Future of Solar Cells Is Parkinson’s an Autoimmune Disease? KOI-3278: A Self-Lensing Bina...

Guest: In this episode we bring on Dr. Raja Kittappa, a stem cell scientist who has recently decided to leave science and run for congress. Resources and Links Brain Activation during Human Male Ejaculation Experimental Cancer Drug Reverses Schizophrenia in Adolescent Mice First Synthetic Yeast Chromosome Revealed Party Drug Ketamine Could Help People with Severe Depression Experimental Compound F...

Guest: In this episode, we bring on an internationally recognized stem cell and cancer researcher Dr. Leonard Zon from Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hosital. Dr. Zon talks to us about his work using zebrafish as a model to study cancer and melanoma and tells some really funny stories on his experiences with these fish. Resources and Links Trends In Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide I...

Guest: Over the past few weeks some really exciting papers came out describing the reprogramming of one cell into another, a process called Direct Reprogramming.  On this episode we talk to Dr. Justin Ichida from the University of Southern California who uses the latest reprogramming techniques in his lab to study neural disease. His current research is focused on using patient-specific disease mo...

Guest: STAP stem cells were a new method of generating pluripotent stem cells published in a paper a few weeks ago.   When it came out, scientists scratched their heads and wondered whether or not this new method could actually work and be reproducible.  Well, while the jury is still out, it is not looking good and we bring on the show one of the most recognized voices of stem cell research, Dr. P...