The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: Dr. Flora Vaccarino from Yale University joins the show to discuss stem cells and autism, specifically her work on neural stem cells and how she is using them to study Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Guest: Dr. Chris Armstrong, CEO of Stem Cell Theranostics, joins the hosts to discuss his company and how they are using iPSCs to model cardiovascular disease. Resources and Links Elusive Liver Stem Cell Identified in Mice by Researchers – Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine identified a cell type in the liver of mice that can both self-renew and make new liver cells. Can Cri...

Guest: For this episode, we bring on internationally recognized stem cell pioneer Dr. George Daley from Children’s Hospital Boston and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute to discuss all things stem cells. Resources and Links New Ebola Vaccine Has ‘100 Percent’ Effectiveness in Early Results – Researchers announced promising results of a new vaccine’s trial called Ebola ça Suffit — French for “Ebola th...

Guest: In this episode we give you the second part of our broadcast live from the ISSCR 2015 International Conference from Stockholm, Sweden. On the show, we randomly pull attendees aside and ask them to us their stem cell story, and detail some of their research topics and accomplishments. Some of those interviewed on the show include Dr. Sean Morrison, the President of ISSCR, and Dr. Paul Tesar...

Guest: In this episode we broadcast live from the ISSCR 2015 International Conference from Stockholm, Sweden.  On the show, we randomly pull attendees aside and ask them to us their stem cell story, and detail some of their research topics and accomplishments.  Everyone from graduate students, post-docs, patients who have received stem cell transplants, to big name researchers, we get them all. Su...

Guest: In this episode we discuss topics ranging from, more sports stars getting stem cell therapy, a mutation that eliminates prion disease, a perspective on aging by studying stem cells, chimps getting drunk in the wild on there own, a Nobel laureate who made awful comments regarding women in science and your birthdate as a predictor of disease. Resources and Links Scientists Film Death of White...

Guest: Heather Rooke, Science Director at  ISSCR previews the 2015 ISSCR conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Resources and Links Sawfish Resort to Virgin Births to Dodge Extinction – Scientists have discovered that some of the smalltooth sawfish have resorted to “virgin births” or what is called facultative parthenogenesis in the wild in an effort to survive. First Steps Taken for Regener...

Guest: Alex Hannay, product manager at Thermo Fisher talks about the process of differentiation from pluripotent stem cells and new products that could help. Resources and Links This Genetically Modified Yeast Can Now Brew Morphine – Biologists in California and Canada have created strains of yeast that can feast on sugar and make opiates – the key ingredients in pain relievers like morphine. Juve...

Guest: In this episode we discuss topics ranging from a chemical in vegetables that can destroy cancer stem cells, chewing gum to prevent signing a song over and over, the first report of germ line gene editing in human embryo, neuronal hyperactivity and neutral stem cells, and the discovery of a new pluripotent stem cell. The second half of the show comes live from  The Next-Gen Stem Cell Confere...

Guest: Dr. Megan Munsie and Dr. Mario D’Cruz discuss the launch of  ISSCR’s  new website “ A Closer Look At Stem Cells ” that aims to educate and empower people about stem cell biology and stem cell treatments. Resources and Links The Number One Cause of Depression — Everywhere – A group of researchers from around the world discovered that people who have suffered from abus...

Guest: Neuroscientist and stem cell pioneer Dr. Fred “Rusty” Gage, a professor at the Salk Institute where he discusses past, present, and future work of stem cells and neurogenesis. Resources and Links Too Much of a Bad Thing Can Be Good in Brain Tumors – DNA mutations can cause cancer but in some cases, more mutations may mean a better prognosis for patients like the one subtype of t...

Guest: Dr. Eirini Papapetrou, an associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai where she discusses her work and latest paper on using stem cells to model blood diseases containing a chromosomal deletion. Resources and Links Sushi Parasite Inspires Worm Test for Cancer – Japanese researchers have discovered that Caenorhabditis elegans worms can detect cancer in people’s uri...

Guest: Our guest, world-renowned geneticist, Dr. Fred Alt from Harvard Medical School talks about his latest paper in Nature Biotechnology where he describes a novel method to detect off target effects of gene editing technology. Resources and Links False Memories Implanted into the Brains of Sleeping Mice – By directly manipulating the brains of sleeping mice, researchers tricked the animals into...

Guest: Dr. Rhonda Newman to talk about her work in trying to figure out a better way to “de-stress” stem cells. Resources and Links Previously Unknown Effect of Vitamin A Identified – A previously unknown effect of vitamin A in human embryonic development has been identified by researchers, indicating that vitamin A affects the formation of blood cells. Feeding Babies Foods with Peanut...

Guest: Dr. Lorenz Studer is the founding director of the Sloan-Kettering Center for Stem Cell Biology a Member in the Developmental Biology Program and the Department of Neurosurgery and Professor in Neuroscience at Weill-Cornell Graduate School. Resources and Links Novel “Smart” Insulin Automatically Adjusts Blood Sugar in Diabetic Mouse Model – Scientists have created Ins-PBA-F, a lo...

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...