The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: Michael Halpern, deputy director for the Center of Science and Democracy, discusses the election and how science might be affected. Resources and Links Storing Tomatoes in Refrigerator Affect Their Genes – Science explains why you shouldn’t put tomatoes in the fridge. It’s because some of their genes chill out and are altered by cold temperatures, ultimately affecting the flavor. A Cl...

Guest: Dr. Stephen Duncan from the University of South Carolina discusses his work on the purification of cell lineages derived from pluripotent stem cells. Resources and Links Japanese Scientist Receives Nobel Prize for Autophagy Work – Yoshinori Ohsumi, a biologist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work uncovering how cells break...

Guest: Dr. Joshua Brickman from the University of Copenhagen discusses his work on stem cells and culture conditions. Professor Brickman’s and his group investigate the basis for transcriptional priming and commitment in embryonic stem cells and early in the specification of the endoderm lineage. Resources and Links Scientists Watch as Bacteria Evolve Antibiotic Resistance – A petri dish more than...

Guest: Dr. Shuibing Chen from Weill Cornell Medical College discusses her work on stem cells and diabetes. Resources and Links A Ban on Antibacterial Soap – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned soap products containing 19 active ingredients, including the notorious chemical triclosan, marketed as antiseptics. A New Book all about Cursing? – A cognitive scientist Benjamin Bergen’s new b...

Guest: CEO and Founder of STEMCELL Technologies Inc. Dr. Allen Eaves discusses his transition from a bench scientist to a biotech business man. Resources and Links Tired Parents Don’t Follow Newborn Sleep Guidelines – Babies should be put on their back in an empty crib with firm mattress. Darwin’s Dogs Want Your Dog’s DNA – Darwin’s Dogs, a citizen science project headquartered at the University o...

Guest: Dr. Ritchie Ho, a postdoctoral fellow from Cedars-Sinai, joins us with his latest study on an induced pluripotent stem cell in vitro model of ALS. Resources and Links Circadian Clock Influences Young Sunflowers to follow the Sun – Research from University of California, Davis shows how sunflowers use their circadian clock to anticipate the dawn and follow the sun across the sky during the d...

Guest: We bring on professor and researcher Dr. Christine Pratt from the University of Ottawa to discuss her research on breast cancer. Resources and Links 2016 Republican Platform against Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Other Science Issues – Live Science examined the Republican Party’s platform against embryonic stem cell research, climate change, fetal tissue research, and other science issues...

Guest: Neurologist and researcher Dr. Mark Freedman discusses his research, including a new discovery and treatment for multiple sclerosis using stem cells. Resources and Links Greased Up Head Helps Swordfish Swim Fast – This article reveals that a newly discovered oil-producing organ in the fish’s head gives it slick skin that could boost its speed. Activating Reward May Increase Immune System –...

Guest: Stem cell researcher and politician Dr. Raj Kittappa to discuss his political expertise as well as his latest research endeavors with stem cells and Parkinson’s disease. Resources and Links Wine Being Made 6300 Years Ago – Researchers have uncorked the oldest solid evidence of grape-based wine making in Europe, and possibly the world, at a site in northern Greece using a new method of analy...

Guest: Stem cell researcher Dr. Danwei Huangfu discusses her work and latest paper in Cell Stem Cell . Her team used CRISPR technology to genetically manipulate human pluripotent stem cells and induce pancreatic beta cells. Resources and Links FDA Warning about Imodium Ad Overdoses – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that higher-than-recommended doses of the antidiarrheal medicine...

Guest: Stem cell researcher Dr. Kristin Hope discusses her work and latest paper in Nature . Her team examined umbilical cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells and the RNA-binding protein musashi-2. Resources and Links Doctors Say Olympics Should Be Postponed or Moved – Doctors and professors are urging the World Health Organization to move or postpone the summer Olympic games in Rio de Janei...

Guest: Stem cell researcher and neuroscientist Dr. Su-Chun Zhang discusses his work and latest paper in Cell Stem Cell . His paper looks at grafting human pluripotent stem cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. Resources and Links Scientists Talk Privately about Creating a Synthetic Human Genome – Scientists are now contemplating the fabrication of a human genome, meaning they would...

Guest: Stem cell researcher Dr. Arnold Kriegstein from the University of California, San Francisco to discusses his work and latest paper in Cell Stem Cell on how the Zika virus affects neural stem cells. Resources and Links Zika Is More Dangerous than We Thought – This article describes the danger of Zika virus like microcephaly in children born from women who have had Zika during pregnancy and G...

Guest: Stem cell researcher Dr. Kateri Moore from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai discusses her work and latest paper in Developmental Cell . Her paper covers hematopoietic reprogramming in mice. Resources and Links Zika Definitely Causes Severe Birth Defects, CDC Says – A causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies. N...

Guest: Stem cell researcher Dr. Joe Zhou from Harvard discusses his work and latest paper in Cell Stem Cell . His research covers beta cells, insulin regulation and organoids.

Guest: We bring on writer and researcher Dr. Aubrey de Grey to discuss his work on anti-aging.  We talk with Dr. de Grey on his latest findings and his ultimate goal of eliminating aging so we call can one day celebrate our 1000 th birthday. Resources and Links Sex-Specific Mechanisms of Stress Susceptibility – According to this article, stress-related mental illnesses are twice as prevalent in wo...

Guest: We feature some of our conversations with attendees from the 2015 World Stem Cell Summit from Atlanta, GA. Happy New Year! Resources and Links 4 New Elements Are Added to the Periodic Table – This article reports that the elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118 will get permanent names soon, according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, with two of the four...

Guest: Scott Dylla, CSO and co-founder of  Stemcentrx , a really cool new company that is using novel technology to target stem cells as a therapy for different cancers, joins us for the interview portion. Happy Holidays and New Year! Photo Reference: Courtesy of Scott Dylla Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Tilo Kunath discusses his work on characterizing clinical grade stem cells so they can be used for patient therapies. We talk to Tilo about his past and current work, including his latest paper published in Scientific Reports . Don’t miss Tilo’s funny story! Resources and Links Boeing Develops New Metal that Could Revolutionize Airplanes – Boeing reveals microlattice: a meta...

Guest: Clinician and researcher Dr. Lior Gepstein discusses his work on using stem cells to model heart disease. We talk to Dr. Gepstein about his past and current work, including his latest paper published in Stem Cell Reports . His research covers human-induced pluripotent stem cell-cardiomyocytes and calcium levels. Resources and Links Antibiotic Resistance: World on Cusp of ‘Post-Antibio...

Guest: Writer, director and photographer Duane Fernandez talks about how curiosity drives him and his work. We talk to Duane on his experience with helping people from all walks of life and business experience their true potential and how this can apply to science. Resources and Links The Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson’s Disease – According to this article, a woman from Perth named Joy Milne...

Guest: Dr. Steven Goldman from the University of Rochester talks about glial cells and his work using neural stem cells to model and fix diseases, like multiple sclerosis. Resources and Links Can a Cancer Drug Reverse Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia? – A drug that’s already approved for treating leukemia appears to dramatically reduce symptoms in people who have Parkinson’s dise...

Guest: Dr. David Mooney, Professor of Bioengineering at the  Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences discusses his work using biomaterials to help stem cells more efficiently integrate after transplantation. Resources and Links Gene-Editing Record Smashed in Pigs – Researchers modify more than 60 genes using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology in effort to enable organ transplants into...

Guest: Dr. Andrew Cohen, Associate Professor at Drexel University, discusses his work on creating new software and programs to track stem cell lineages using time lapse video data. Resources and Links Antidepressants plus Blood-Thinners Slow Down Brain Cancer – Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne scientists found that combining antidepressants with anticoagulants slows down brain tumors in mi...

Guest: Dr. Scott Noggle, VP of Stem Cell Research at The New York Stem Cell Foundation discusses his automated system for making iPS cells. Dr. Noggle applies new advances in pluripotent stem cell biology and cell reprogramming to the creation of human models of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease to discover new disease targets.