Did you see a movie called “THE BOY IN THE PLASTIC BUBBLE”, starring John Travolta? In the film, the hero has a disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), which means his immune system does not work. Germs that you and I would not even know about (because our immune system would fight them off) could
Gloria, my wife of 48 years, was walking down the street toward me. But something was wrong. Her face was gray. She said she had pain in her back and chest. One arm felt heavy, and she had broken out in a cold sweat. It took some doing, but last she was safe and snug
First (and this is important) with rare exceptions, every dollar of the California stem cell research program is spent in California. The exceptions are for equipment or materials that cannot be had for reasonable prices in California. Other than that, our home state money gets spent at home. But what if one of our scientists
One day in the eleventh grade, I did a thousand situps without stopping; I don’t know why. I just started doing them in PE class, going for a hundred at first, then continuing on and on. The person holding my ankles got bored and quit; somebody else tossed a cupful of water on the floor
Do you want to become a stem cell scientist, or know someone who does? If so, this article is a Christmas gift for you; or, more accurately, three gifts— all from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which our beloved state voted into law in 2004. First, if you are in High School or
“I was the little girl who at the age of five gathered up mosquito fish”, said Jan Nolta in a personal interview. The fish were to eat mosquito larvae and then be used as fertilizer for Northern California rice fields. When the knee-deep water dried up, the fish died and enriched the soil—but Jan rescued
Do you know those ATM machines in front of banks, where people go to make deposits or withdrawals of money? What if there was an ATM which collected blood—you stick your arm in a slot and a needle pokes and some blood is taken out and new blood put in? There isn’t any such ATM,
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
