When you come to one of the board meetings of the California stem cell program, (and you should, you are welcome!) you will see twenty-nine people sitting behind long tables, arranged in a square so they can see each other. It is nothing fancy, no luxuries: just each person has a pitcher of water before
My recent bout with cancer resulted in a medical bill of $960,000. Think of that— almost a million bucks for the surgery, radiation, hormone injections, etc.— how could Gloria, life-partner of 48 years, and I possibly pay such an enormous bill? We are senior citizens on a limited income. I have no savings, no stocks
Cystic Fibrosis (CF)... Imagine a progressive disease of breathing problems so severe your only chance is a double lung transplant—requiring a person newly deceased and with previously approved permission to donate body parts—an operation you may not survive. That’s just the beginning; also, there are digestive difficulties: your body can’t absorb enough nutrients, so that
At the end of this story is my non-scientific but heart-felt belief on how to keep your hair from falling out. But first, is baldness-cure research important, or just vanity? Think of one single hair on your head. If you pluck it, or if the skin around it is damaged, that stalk of hair will
FLASH! Yesterday morning, , December 14th, Mark Tuszynski won his grant from CIRM! Yayyyyy!!! So read this story, and know that it had a happy ending! If you, or someone you love, has suffered a spinal cord injury, next Thursday, December 14th, is an important day for you. If you want to be a part
Zika…Zeeekaahh… sounds poisonous and evil, doesn’t it? But the reality is worse. Some adults may go through a session of Zika and barely notice it: mild headaches, stomach upset, aching in joints. Others may contract the paralyzing condition Guillain-Barre, or acute myelitis and other disorders of the nerve system. But the worst danger is to
“How do you do?” The voice on the line was deep, confident, self-assured. I tried to think what to say. “Um, do you like sharks and dolphins? Because I used to be a diver for Marine World Africa USA, and I would swim with them every day!” There was a polite pause, then: “Finding Nemo,
Imagine a cut that bleeds but does not clot. Untreated, a person with hemophilia can suffer extreme pain from internal bleeding in the joints, as well as suffering strokes from brain-bleeds, even death from continual blood loss. It is said the Russian Revolution of 1917 might not have happened, if there had been a cure
If Dr. Tracy Grikscheit’s work prevails, one day the world may know something most of us never think about— how to improve defective intestines. Why would we want to do such a thing? To save a baby’s life. First, consider the problem. A premature infant may weigh 500 grams. Born too soon, their intestines may
