As my colleague mentioned earlier this week, some of the best and brightest in the stem-cell research world are gathering in the Bay Area this week. San Francisco Chronicle writer Erin Allday reports today on the global conference:
Of the 4,000 scientists signed up for the conference of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, roughly a quarter of them are based in California - and much of the focus of this week's discussions will be on research taking place in the Bay Area, such as potential therapies for treating Parkinson's or epilepsy, or a rare but fatal brain disease in children.
...
"Probably 90 percent of what you hear at this conference won't be even close to trials," said Dr. Irving Weissman, director of Stanford University's Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
But it's an exciting time, nonetheless, he said. "It's a remarkable experiment that's happening," Weissman said. "Stem cell research has spread rapidly, and nowhere faster than in California."
