Image from Freepik A challenge in stem cell research and clinical application is the imbalance between demand and the limited availability of these stem cells. This shortage complicates the development of effective therapies and restricts treatment options for patients. Because stem cells come from unique sources, such as the bone marrow, kidneys, heart and liver,...

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Happy New Year! With so much information available online, thank you for choosing to read the content on Signals. Whether you are a subscriber and a loyal reader, or you follow a particular blogger or category, your readership is appreciated! As of this writing, here are the blogs that attracted the most readers in 2024,...

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HIV-1 viral particles (blue) budding from an infected cell in vitro. Transmission electron micrograph captured at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility. Credit: NIAID. Pick of the Month Another HIV-1 remission, but with a twist: The Geneva Patient I previously wrote about Mr. Paul Edmonds, who was the fifth person...

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I’m excited to be sharing some new Canadian cancer immunotherapy developments! We’ve already seen some great stuff with CAR T cells and checkpoint inhibitors. But the strength of these therapies is also their downfall: their targets make them highly specific and powerful against tumours expressing and exploiting the targets, but also limit the use of...

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Credit: Creative Commons The convergence of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine (TERM) and artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a transformative era for the biomedical field. By leveraging machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), researchers can enhance cell culture processes and advance organ and tissue engineering. Specifically, DL accelerates the development of regenerative therapies by...

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Credit: Jason D. Williams, CCO, Wikimedia Commons If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware of the massive strides the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry has made in the last few years. Between 2017 and 2022, six CGT products were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but we saw eight approvals in 2023...

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Gartner Hype Cycle diagram. Creative Commons. Are you familiar with the Gartner Hype Cycle? It’s a way of separating hype from reality when it comes to emerging technologies – like cell and gene therapies (CGTs). The hype cycle employs a graph to present the maturity of new technologies through five phases. Learn more here. The...

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A photo of Marcella Townsend following treatment for severe facial burns using placenta-derived grafts. Credit: Kendrick Brinson/The New York Times/Redux Millions of placentas are discarded annually around the world. Given the regenerative medical potential demonstrated by placenta-derived tissue over the years, this is quite an unfortunate statistic. First used in 1910, placenta-derived tissue was abandoned...

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Parmin Sedigh is an undergraduate student who is passionate about the stem cell field and science communication. You can find her on LinkedIn and @ParminSedigh, or view her portfolio website. Three years ago, I wrote a blog post for Signals on why I’m passionate about stem cells and science communication as a high school student, and...

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These days it can be very tempting to turn off the news, shut down the negativity on social media and find one’s happy place. Some of you escape into the world of cute pet videos or following animal accounts on Instagram (may I recommend my own furry friend @rorythesheprador?). Book sales have surged and Netflix added 26 million global subscribers to its streaming service during the first half of 2020, only two million shy of…

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