From The  Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog

 
The Stem Cell Blog of the Year.
In 2011 we have a tie for stem cell blog of the year between two outstanding blogs. The award goes to both Stem Cell Network of Canada and Stem Cell Assays, by Drs. Gunn and Bersenev. These are two great resources for both factual information and thought provoking opinions about stem cells. Also worth noting is CIRM Research Blog by Amy Adams, the winner of our 2010 Blog of the Year Award. In addition, I have to mention the California Stem Cell Report by David Jensen. This blog is read by a who’s who of the stem cell world, and is a source of important information about CIRM. I personally wish that it was more balanced in terms of positive and critical stories, but I should note that of late there have been several posts there that have leaned far more positive than in the past so maybe this is an encouraging trend. To me it seems that David is impressed so far with new CIRM Chair Thomas, but I don’t claim to speak for David..Continue Reading...

Also From Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog

How many stem cell scientist bloggers does it take to change a light bulb? If it is more than 1, we are in serious trouble

One question I am frequently asked by readers and colleagues is “what other stem cell blogs can you recommend that are written by a stem cell scientist and updated on a regular basis?”

The simple but surprising answer: there are none. It’s lonely out here in cyberspace!

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of the death of the only other stem cell blog out there written by scientists, The Niche. The loss of that blog was painful.

As it stands now, our blog would appear to be the only one in the world about stem cells written by a stem cell faculty-level scientist.

This is not bragging, but rather more like complaining on my part. Where the heck are the rest of you? My guess is that most stem cell scientists are too afraid to blog. It’s true I have stumbled across an occasional landmine or two as an assistant professor blogging on stem cell research, but I remain mostly unscathed. Our audience grows and seems to have some actual influence with the ‘bigwigs’ out there.

As the only scientist blogging on stem cells, I’m an easy target for opponents of stem cell research. If you Google “stem cell blog” my lab’s home website, http://www.stem.ws, and this blog you are currently reading consistently rank in the top 5-10 hits.  If you look at the top 100 hits, none are written by scientists.

Nonetheless there are some excellent blogs out there on stem cells. I would recommend Don C. Reed’s Stem Cell Battles. Also Amy Adam’s Research Blog over at CIRM is outstanding. Ben’s Stem Cell News is good and updated frequently, but does not allow for comments and does not state opinions. California Stem Cell Report has the latest on CIRM, focusing on policy issues. Webicina has a list of stem cell blogs including Cell News that provides up-to-date postings on stem cells, cloning, bioethics, and genetics. The blog of the Stem Cell Network, a blog team written (updated once or twice a month) mostly by grad students and at least one postdoc in Canada, is very good. Most of the writers are trainees in the Rudnicki lab. Cheers to you guys!

The consequences of there only being 1 stem cell blog written by a stem cell scientist goes beyond me having a bulls eye on my forehead. In addition, what it means is that stem cell scientists have very little collective voice on the internet. I know of at least a couple dozen anti-stem cell blogs out there, for example, that frequently are at or near the top of Google searches. Add in the newspaper columnists voicing strident anti-stem cell opinions (e.g., embryonic stem cell research supporters are baby killers and Nazis), and you have a formidable enemy of science.

Primarily during the Reagan Administration, HIV/AIDS activists used the slogan ‘silence = death’. The point was that it is not enough to quietly support a medical cause with the importance of HIV/AIDS. If you care about something and it is important, you need to communicate that.

Yes, there is risk in speaking (blogging) one’s opinions on controversial topics such as stem cells, but I think ‘silence=death’ also applies to embryonic stem cell research and scientists have been too quiet, for too long. If embryonic stem cell research falls apart in the U.S., it will mean the death and suffering of countless patients who could have otherwise been helped.

If you do not speak, you hand the agenda to the opponents of science and we have seen what harm they can do. They are organized, have a lot of $, and are not afraid of taking extreme positions that draw attention.

So time for scientists to talk and blog about why we need stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research, set the record straight on the propaganda of the other side, and basically fight for what you believe in.


Stem Cell Research:Links

On This Site; Liver: Stem Cells Updates and News

Hepatitis C/Liver How Stem Cells Work

ISSCR Website For Patients:
Ten Things You Should Know If You're Looking For A Stem Cell Therapy

Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog
Advancing knowledge and cures

Stem Cells at the National Academies 
This U.S. based site contains basic information about stem cells, the National Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and other stem cell related resources

The National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Information Page
Provides information about stem cells, research updates and stem cell policy in the United States

MedlinePlus
A service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, this site provides health and research information about specific diseases or conditions to the general public

From Stem Cells Translational Medicine;  
This new publication will provide a venue for studies that move stem cell research closer toward clinical trials. In addition to publishing new discoveries that help all scientists in their goals the journal will also take the unusual step of publishing studies considered negative, with results that did not back up the original hypothesis or that did not show a new path to therapies, which will save other scientists the time of carrying out those experiments.”

The California Institute for Regenerative, the State Stem Cell Agency (CIRM)
At CIRM’s Web site you can find basic facts and education materials about stem cells as well as information about stem cell research in the state of California.
Also see CIRM’s Disease Fact Sheets, which describe research in specific disease areas.

Current Research;

• Scientific Literature Abstracts of highlights of stem cell research, plus links to searchable databases and the NIH Library.
• Stem Cell Research at NIH Links to each Institute's research activities, as well as the findings of the NIH Stem Cell Unit, NIH Stem Cell Program Staff information, and funding announcments.
• State Initiatives for Stem Cell Research
• Research Programs at Universities and Institutions
• International Stem Cell Research

From the ClinicalTrials.gov Web site:

• Search for a list of clinical studies related to stem cell research

Warnings; Offshore Stem Cell Clinics

National Public Radio (US) report,
"Offshore Stem Cell Clinics Sell Hope, Not Science"

Nature has an article written by Heidi Ledford discussing the worldwide rapid increase of stem-cell clinics and the dangers of these unproven treatments.

Scope has a nice write up on the article by Eva Valenti, she writes;

Regenerative medicine such as stem cell therapy has cast a ray of hope into many patients’ lives. Stem cell clinics, however, do not always offer patients the most effective treatments. According to a recent Nature article: Many of the treatments such clinics offer — injecting a patient’s own stem cells back into his or her body in a bid to treat conditions ranging from Parkinson’s disease to spinal-cord injuries — are at best a waste of money, and at worst dangerous. “There’s real potential to damage the legitimacy of the field,” says Timothy Caulfield, who studies health law and policy at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.The potential danger of these clinics is clear: In May, Europe’s largest stem-cell clinic was shut down after its treatments were linked to a child’s death....Please do go read the more at Scope and the original article from Nature.

From Stanford Peddling Hope
On the surface it seems easy. Overseas stem cell “clinics” peddling unproven treatments to desperate and dying patients, charging tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of being injected with mysterious concoctions of cells meant to cure almost every ailment: What’s not to hate? But for many patients, the issue is more complex than it may at first seem. To them, the fact that a treatment has not been thoroughly tested and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a minor detail, with hope trouncing logic in a world where mainstream medicine can sometimes neither cure nor alleviate suffering. The result is a booming international business that is growing every year, thanks in large part to the Internet and the savvy marketers who prey on patients’ fears.