The Stem Cellar Named the World's Best Stem Cell Blog: Compelling Content, Commentary and More

The blog of the $3 billion California stem cell agency last month was ranked as the best stem cell blog in the world by the only entity that measures such things. 

The designation came from The Niche, a stem cell blog published by UC Davis researcher Paul Knoepfler, who on Dec. 22 identified the best blogs in the field for 2015. He said,

“The (top) prize goes to CIRM’s The Stem Cellar. While this is a tough choice (see more below on other stem cell blogs), CIRM’s blog has continued from year to year to step up its game. They post very often, sometimes daily. Their posts are composed of compelling content that includes reports on papers and other developments, but also commentary. I really appreciate the latter and that is fairly unique. They have also gone well beyond just focusing on CIRM-related matters to include broader issues for the stem cell field.”

(CIRM is the acronym for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the formal name of the agency.)

Knoepfler continued,

“...(F)inishing a close second was Alexey Bersenev’s blog StemCellAssays. It continues to be incredible. Alexey regularly posts on the more technical side of stem cells, regenerative medicine, cellular medicine, and more. StemCellAssays is a much read for those interested in this field from any number of angles."

Kevin McCormack, WAF photo

The California Stem Cell Report, which was on Knoepfler’s short list, asked the stem cell agency about its blog, its readership and how it operates. Kevin McCormack, senior director of communications, replied,

“It was very flattering obviously to learn that Paul had named us as the #1 stem cell blog. We’ve been working hard to make our blog as engaging and thoughtful, and fun, as possible and this was vindication that at least in his eyes we had succeeded.

“Our strategy is really quite simple. We look for what we think are the best, most interesting stories out there, and then write about them. Obviously we like to highlight stories about research we are funding but more often than not we’re just looking for something new, something fresh, something that sheds a new light on research in general or on tackling a particular disease or problem in particular.”

(For the full text of McCormack’s reply, see here.)

Todd Dubnicoff, CIRM photo

Karen Ring, CIRM photo

In addition to McCormack, three other CIRM team members write for The Stem Cellar, which posts virtually five days a week. They are Karen Ring, a former stem cell researcher, Don Gibbons and Todd Dubnicoff. The pace of postings is important because it is generally believed in the blogosphere that blogs must be fed often to keep readers interested.

Don Gibbons, CIRM photo

The activity on the blog has additional significance since CIRM’s home page is fundamentally static and rarely changes on a day-to-day basis. So the liveliness on the blog helps keep people coming back to the agency’s information where it touts its success. 

As for readership of the blog, it obviously draws attention from scientists and patients. But the audience is small compared to the mammoth numbers chalked up by big name blogs, which count their readership in millions. McCormack said WordPress reported 127,995 page views for 2015 for the agency’s blog. (For more numbers, see here.).

A Pew Research Center study reported last year that the number of scientists who are blogging is growing as awareness increases about the importance of making full use of Internet communications tools.

Susan Gunelius, writing on the ACI Information Group's Web site, said,

"Certainly, the more scientists who publish blogs and share their findings via social media, the more the public will learn about science from reputable sources. With that in mind, let’s hope that the number of scientists who are active on social media and writing blogs continues to grow!"

Here is the list of the other stem cell blogs rated highly by Knoepfler: the California Stem Cell Report,  EuroStemCell, ISSCR Blog, msemporda, Signals Blog, Stem Cell Assays, Stem Cell Podcast, Stem Cells Buzz, The Node.

Knoepfler, who has received grants from the California stem cell agency, reported that msemporda and Stem Cells Buzz are new to the game.

CIRM's Approach to Stem Cell Blogging: The Full Text

The California Stem Cell Report asked the California stem cell agency for a run down on how it approaches its blog, which in December was rated the top stem cell blog of 2015 by The Niche, another stem cell blog published by UC Davis researcher Paul Knoepfler.

Kevin McCormack, senior director for communications, replied,

"It was very flattering obviously to learn that Paul had named us as the #1 stem cell blog. We’ve been working hard to make our blog as engaging and thoughtful, and fun, as possible and this was vindication that at least in his eyes we had succeeded.

"Our is really quite simple. We look for what we think are the best, most interesting stories out there, and then write about them. Obviously we like to highlight stories about research we are funding but more often than not we’re just looking for something new, something fresh, something that sheds a new light on research in general or on tackling a particular disease or problem in particular.

"We try to divide it up so that we all write a blog every week, that way we get different voices and flavors in the mix. I think that’s important for a number of reasons. One, it creates a sense that this is truly a team blog, and two, it allows each of us to take a little bit more time in writing each piece, to make sure we get it right and to do it in a way that is most interesting and accessible for our audience.

"We have a really broad range of people reading us from researchers and scientists to people with no science background (like me), so we are always mindful of trying to write in a way that allows everyone to understand what’s going on. We also try to write in a way that reflects how exciting this research is and the potential it has. But we also try to balance that by reminding people that some of this work was done in animals and needs to be replicated in people before we get carried away.

"One of the new things that Dr. Karen Ring has added, since joining us this year, is more individual profiles of young researchers. These have been popular in helping give a voice to a group of people who are often overlooked, the youngest members of the research teams, the people who represent the future of stem cell research and are the next generation of scientific stars.

"We are always looking to add new ideas, new voices to the blog. So if you have any thoughts or ideas left over from your own, let us know. We’re happy to try anything. At least once."

Readership Numbers on the California Stem Cell Agency's Blog

The California Stem Cell Report asked the state stem cell agency for readership statistics on its blog, named in December as the best stem cell blog in the word. Here is the text of what Kevin McCormack, senior director for communications, sent along.

"We only have stats from May 2014 because that is the date when this blog was switched to Wordpress (that’s also the reason why the viewing figures for May were so low, it took people a while to find the new site). The blog started in 2007 on a site called blogspot.

"Data from 2015:

Home page views: 34,871

Top blog reads: 2,336

Best ever views: Sept 2nd 2015 with 1,454 views

"From May 2014-Dec 2015

Views went from 60  to ~13,000

Months and years

Average per Day

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Overall
2014					2	57	194	235	194	273	381	309	209
2015	356	309	335	251	301	345	268	323	441	440	446	429	353

"Referrers (in order of top views)

1)    Search Engines (google, bing, yahoo)

2)    Facebook

3)    Twitter

"Total # Posts: 1,555

"Total followers: 485 (115 on wordpress and 370 on email subscription)"

Storing Stem Cells and Cash

Sometimes you could say that the California stem cell agency is in the business of hope.

That's a core engine behind the drive for embryonic stem cell research. Another is profit.

But hope propels other research and business as well.

Reporter Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times wrote today about private tissue banks, including the case of one man who expects to pay $6,000 to harvest his own stem cells and pay a Southern California firm $400 a year to store them. She wrote,

"NeoStem, the company that he has chosen to store his stem cells, has launched a $2.5-million plan to expand its services across the country in the next year. It joins a private tissue-banking industry that already includes more than two dozen companies storing the stem cell-rich blood of the umbilical cord harvested at the time of a baby's birth, one other bank storing stem cells from circulating blood, and an 8-month-old bank that draws and stores stem cells from the soft pulp of children's baby teeth."

Governor's Cyberspace Splash on ESC Research

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put the state's stem cell issues at the top of his Web publicity agenda for several days earlier this week.

The governor's Internet site carried, on its main media page, video, audio and text on the $45 million in research grant awards by CIRM. A complete video of the news conference in Burlingame on Friday along with the governor's weekly radio address (Spanish and English) was and is still available. The site carried four still photos of the news conference. Claire Pomeroy, a member of the CIRM Oversight Committee and dean of the UC Davis medical school, is also featured in a video blog.

A few notes on matters not necessarily highlighted in the news coverage. It was abundantly clear that governor is committed to making another large loan to the agency if it remains bogged down in legal battles. A reporter questioned whether he was prepared to make another $150 million loan if needed. The governor's response was that he was committed "all the way."

Schwarzenegger also noted "the state teaches the federal government what to do." He said, "We don't wait." The California example, he noted, is rubbing off on other states. ESC research is a "people's issue." As for his role in the matter, he said, "I am a public servant."

Stem cell Chairman Robert Klein was ebullient during the news conference. But he also noted there will be "problems and failures" in the research. "We will learn from them," he said.

Also featured on the video was patient advocate Don Reed, who made heartfelt comments, along with his son, Roman Reed, who is paralyzed. The younger spoke as well, but was not near a microphone for the first segment of his comments.

Big Pharma Is Watching

It was stem cells live – surgery and all – in San Diego Tuesday at the Stem Cells Summit.

Terri Somers wrote in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a disectomy broadcast live from Scripps Memorial Hospital as a demonstration of a stem cell therapy that is not years away. The operation involved a Blackstone Medical product called Trinity, a combination of bone and stem cells.

Somers reported that representatives from Big Pharma were at the conference looking for the next big thing. She said:

"Therapies from human embryonic stem cells, which are controversial and receive more media coverage, are much farther from market because the understanding of these cells is nascent, said Tom Baker, a spokesman for San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, a stem cell company that sponsored the summit. The summit is an attempt to help people differentiate between the progress in the two fields, and drum up more interest in often-ignored but more advanced adult stem cell research, said Baker, whose company is developing therapies that pull adult stem cells from fat for reconstructive surgery or cardiac problems."

It was stem cells live – surgery and all – in San Diego Tuesday at the Stem Cells Summit.

Terri Somers wrote in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a disectomy broadcast live from Scripps Memorial Hospital as a demonstration of a stem cell therapy that is not years away. The operation involved a Blackstone Medical product called Trinity, a combination of bone and stem cells.

Somers reported that representatives from Big Pharma were at the conference looking for the next big thing. She said:

“Therapies from human embryonic stem cells, which are controversial and receive more media coverage, are much farther from market because the understanding of these cells is nascent, said Tom Baker, a spokesman for San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, a stem cell company that sponsored the summit. The summit is an attempt to help people differentiate between the progress in the two fields, and drum up more interest in often-ignored but more advanced adult stem cell research, said Baker, whose company is developing therapies that pull adult stem cells from fat for reconstructive surgery or cardiac problems. “

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/biotech/20070214-9999-1b14stems.html

Stem Cell Snippets: Court Appeals, Cheerleading,UC Davis Plans, Pera and Kuehl

Stem Cell Lawsuit Appeal – The time has changed on the oral arguments on Feb. 14 in the appeal of the verdict in the CIRM lawsuit trial. It is now set for 2 p.m.

World's Oldest Cheerleader? – Relentless patient advocate Don Reed says next Friday (when CIRM makes its first research grants) is an "unbreakable date" in San Francisco (actually Burlingame, which is near the airport). In his effort to generate favorable news coverage, he wrote a piece on "StemBlog," which is part of the Stem Cell Action Network. Reed said this about the expected grant announcements, "Worst Scenario: the opposition shows up in full force, which they will– and in support? Old white-haired Don is there by himself, the world’s oldest cheerleader. Best Scenario: a ton of people smiling, including some friends driving wheelchairs, joined in the celebration of a truly historic day, when in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, a great state led a great nation into a new age."

Losing the Stem Cell Race – The Washington Post and the Sacramento Bee carried an op-ed piece that suggested state efforts to pump up stem cell research are not enough. According to Joseph Fuller and Brock Reeve, the reasons include: "The entry of individual states into the breach left by the federal government has helped drive research activity. But it has also created a patchwork of regulations and funding levels that constrains research collaboration. Expensive and restrictive enabling patents, political controversy and the absence of federal research money, coupled with a long time to market, have made venture capitalists reluctant to invest. In 2005, just over $100 million in venture capital went to stem cell ventures, compared with $500 million in biotech ventures at an equivalent stage."

UC Davis Stem Cell Plans – The campus newspaper at UC Davis has a rundown on $75 million in stem cell research building plans on the campus. Written by Allie Shilin, the piece says: "The newest addition to the center is a 5,160-square-foot Good Manufacturing Practice laboratory to be housed in a 100,000-square-foot renovated portion of the UC Davis Medical Center on Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento."

Reijo Pera – The co-director of the UC San Francisco ESC research center is leaving to join Stanford as director of "human embryonic stem cell research and education for the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine."

Kuehl's CIRM Legislation – Jesse Reynolds of the Center for Genetics and Society is "encouraged" by State Sen. Sheila Kuehl's proposal to make changes at the California stem cell agency. He writes on Biopolitical Times that her ideas are worthy of support.

ESC Research: Doing Well vs. Doing Good

Is embryonic stem cell research an economic boon or boondoggle for California? Or for other states as well?

Writer David Hamilton, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, discussed the subject this week on Slate. Here are excerpts of what he had to say:

"If medical treatments can be derived from stem-cell research, they are at least a decade or two away, if history is any guide. Even then, new therapies envisioned by supporters, such as diabetes treatments that regenerate insulin-producing islet cells, might add to government health-care costs instead of curbing them. The Baker-Deal report (from the 2004 Prop. 71 campaign) figured that stem-cell therapies could save California at least $3.4 billion in health-care costs over the next three decades by assuming the therapies would reduce state spending on six major medical conditions by 1 percent to 2 percent. While the authors cast that as a 'conservative' estimate, they don't even model the possibility that costs might rise instead. Recent medical advances haven't appreciably slowed growth in overall U.S. health-care spending, which continues to rise far faster than inflation.

"Ideally, of course, stem-cell therapies would start a trend in the opposite direction by reducing or eliminating the need for expensive and often lifelong medical care. For that to happen, though, the new treatments would need to largely replace existing ones at a reasonable price, and then doctors would have to use them sparingly—for instance, only on the patients most likely to benefit. None of these assumptions is a particularly good bet under the current U.S. health-care system, in which new treatments are often simply added to older ones, and where insurers so far have tended to pay top dollar for incremental medical advances."

Hamilton continued:

"What about the potential of stem-cell research to spur economic development—can a state that sponsors stem-cell research hope to attract cool scientists who will then draw others, plus a coterie of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists? Biotech companies do tend to cluster in places like San Francisco and Boston, but their overall impact on regional economies tends to be limited. While they often pay high salaries, the vast majority of these companies are tiny, unprofitable startups with fewer than 100 employees. They frequently collapse well before they earn a dollar in sales. Even successful biotech ventures are often bought out by distant drug companies, which sometimes shut down the acquired company while transferring its research activities and any products elsewhere. On top of all that, big states like California and New York are going to wind up competing for some of the very same scientists, VCs, and entrepreneurs, further shrinking the rewards.

"Why did Baker and Deal see dollar signs? The $200,000 stem-cell supporters paid to Deal's firm, the Analysis Group, for campaign consulting might have something to do with it. In an interview, Baker said he didn't think of the report as advocacy but added that 'we knew we were working for people who wanted to pass this thing.' And while he still believes the economic benefits of stem-cell research could be 'quite large,' Baker also describes the report as merely 'one possible version of how things might happen.'"

Hamilton's bottom line:

"None of this means that stem-cell research doesn't deserve government funding. Stem-cell science, after all, remains in its infancy. Nearly a decade after the discovery of embryonic stem cells in humans, scientists still don't know exactly how they work, how to assure their purity, or what unexpected side effects they might have when transplanted into the human body."

Since the Bush administration refuses to support ESC research, Hamilton, concluded "the states are right to ante up where the federal government has failed to. They just shouldn't expect to do well while they're doing good."

Hamilton's piece does not deal with a related reason for the economic argument for ESC research. Creating a dream of riches is an attempt -- generally successful, we might add -- to shift the terms of the debate. It is a no-win proposition if ESC research backers find themselves locked into a discussion of whether they are killing babies.