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Articles by David Jensen
Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and Waste
abandonment, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, embryos, meaningful future, waste “Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and Waste.” Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. 2008. 29.1: 27-41. Jensen, David A., "Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and Waste" (2008). Faculty Publications. 10184. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/10184 Peer-Reviewed Article Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
Voters could fund what Trump and California lawmakers will not
A voter places a ballot in a drop box at the County Registrar of Voters. (File photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego) This story was originally published by Capitol Weekly. Painful is one word to describe the past 18 months for California researchers affected by the Trump administration’s assault on science. And the pain was compounded in June in the Capitol when the state’s housing affordability crisis blocked a $23 billion scientific research rescue plan from this fall’s ballot.
Voters could fund what Trump and California lawmakers will not
California voters will weigh Proposition 38, an $8.4 billion bond for immunology research, as Trump administration actions and a stalled state plan strain research funding. (Photoillustration by lightsource via DepositPhotos) Painful is one word to describe the past 18 months for California researchers affected by the Trump administration’s assault on science.
CIRM gets first approval of a one-and-done gene therapy
News The Langenhop family. Photo courtesy of the Langenhop family and the CIRM. by DAVID JENSEN posted 03.31.2026 It was a warm spring afternoon on the Sacramento River, not far from where gold was discovered in California more than 178 years ago. Directors of the state’s genetic research agency were meeting in a hotel room on the river bank, scratching for another sort of gold – not a mineral, but a revolutionary medical therapy. And then the announcement came.
Will race to replace Pelosi doom Wiener’s $23 billion bond proposal? - Capitol Weekly
Analysis by DAVID JENSEN posted 11.11.2025 The race to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress, once the nation’s most powerful political woman, has scrambled the future of a proposal to create a $23 billion California version of the National Institutes of Health. However, the situation may augur well for the $12 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), whose fate will also be tied to the Golden State’s ballot box a few years down the road.
$23 Billion Scientific Research Program Proposed in California - Capitol Weekly
California would see the creation of a $23 billion state research agency under legislation proposed late last week, a new enterprise that could threaten the existence of the state’s 20-year-old stem cell and gene therapy program. The legislation would support research ranging from wildfire prevention to autism.
California Scientists Could Lose Big With Trump Medical Research Cuts
California scientists took what looked like an $800 million hit last week in their efforts to develop revolutionary treatments and cures for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes. It was a jab from the Trump administration, one that generated apocalyptic predictions and mind-numbing jargon about paying bills for janitors, water, electricity, computer support and hazardous waste disposal, among other things. “Lights in Labs Nationwide Will Literally Go Out” warned one headline.
CA scientists could lose big with Trump medical research cuts - Capitol Weekly
News by DAVID JENSEN posted 02.19.2025 California scientists took what looked like an $800 million hit last week in their efforts to develop revolutionary treatments and cures for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes. It was a jab from the Trump administration, one that generated apocalyptic predictions and mind-numbing jargon about paying bills for janitors, water, electricity, computer support and hazardous waste disposal, among other things.
The Cost To Borrow GLD ETF Shares Has Increased Almost 3x In 5 Hours Today
The cost to borrow Spider Gold ‘GLD’ Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) shares has almost tripled in 5 hours today to 6.29%. In mid-January 2025, the borrow fee for GLD shares was 0.5%. ‘Authorized Participants’, as defined by the GLD prospectus and consisting primarily of bullion banks, can redeem ‘Baskets’ of GLD shares to receive delivery of 10,000 oz. of gold at a time.
Bank of England Governor Andy Bailey Dismisses Importance Of Gold; Sprott Money's Andrew Sleigh Gives Insight Into The Global Gold And Silver Shortage
In the weeks and months ahead, there is going to be considerable discussion about the cash markets for gold and silver becoming ‘disorderly’. In reality what will be happening is order being restored to the cash/spot price discovery of physical gold and silver market after decades of rigged price setting in London utilizing London’s cash market promissory note metal pricing system.
Will CIRM research fill knowledge gap on wildfire particulate connection to brain damage? - Capitol Weekly
News Smoke blanketing California's coastline. Image courtesy of NOAA website. by DAVID JENSEN posted 01.29.2025 When some Los Angeles area residents returned to homes that survived the wildfires, it felt like they were hit by an “invisible injury.” Their couches, rugs and even walls reeked. The emissions generated by smoke-linked particles and chemicals drove some from their homes once again.
Fraud and Misconduct in Alzheimer's Research: New Book Dives into the "Legacy of Lies"
“The Devastating Legacy of Lies in Alzheimer’s Science” read the headline this weekend in the New York Times. “Over the past 25 years, Alzheimer’s research has suffered a litany of ostensible fraud and other misconduct by world-famous researchers and obscure scientists alike, all trying to ascend in a brutally competitive field,” said the essay by Charles Piller.
Commentary: Kudos, criticism mark California stem cell agency as it turns 20
California’s $12 billion stem cell experiment turned 20 years old this fall, winning kudos from some patients and scientists but failing to fulfill the expectations of voters who thought they had created an enterprise that would lead quickly to revolutionary cures for cancer, heart disease, stroke and much more. It was a grand dream in 2004 when Californians voted overwhelmingly to establish the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, in response to then-President George W.
Kudos, criticism mark California stem cell agency as it turns 20 - Capitol Weekly
News Scientist performing stem cell research for cancer therapy. Image by Manjurul by DAVID JENSEN posted 12.05.2024 California’s $12 billion stem cell experiment turned 20 years old this fall, winning kudos from some patients and scientists but failing to fulfill the expectations of voters who thought they had created an enterprise that would lead quickly to revolutionary cures for cancer, heart disease, stroke and much more.
Rectangular Carbon Fiber Isotruss Reinforcement in Concrete Beams
Keywords rectangular carbon fiber IsoTruss, concrete beams, flexural strength College Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology Department Civil and Environmental Engineering Abstract The objective of this research was to determine the flexural strength of concrete beams reinforced by the rectangular carbon fiber IsoTruss. The rectangular IsoTruss is a threedimensional composite grid structure patented by Brigham Young University.
"Broad-Acting Therapeutic Effects of miR-29b-Chitosan on Hypertension a" by David M Jensen, Peng Han et al.
Abstract MicroRNA miR-29 promotes endothelial function in human arterioles in part by targeting LYPLA1 and increasing nitric oxide production. In addition, miR-29 is a master inhibitor of extracellular matrix gene expression, which may attenuate fibrosis but could also weaken tissue structure. The goal of this study was to test whether miR-29 could be developed as an effective, broad-acting, and safe therapeutic.
'Bubble boy' treatments showing success in spite of funding challenges - Capitol Weekly
News David Vetter, aka "the bubble boy," who died in 1984 from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Photo by AP by DAVID JENSEN posted 07.26.2024 Dr. Moustache has done it again. Another child has been treated for a deadly affliction known as the “bubble boy” disease. Dr. Moustache and his “magical team” did have a little help, courtesy of the people of California who put tens of millions of dollars into financing his cell and gene therapy.
Stem cell agency says meet the new boss, same as the old boss - Capitol Weekly
News CIRM CEO Jon Thomas. Photo by CIRM. by DAVID JENSEN posted 07.15.2024 Jonathan Thomas, the man just named as the new CEO of the $12 billion California stem cell agency, could borrow an old line from Mark Twain. Reports of his “demise” were greatly exaggerated. Seventeen months ago, Thomas said goodbye to the $12 billion California stem cell agency after serving for more than a decade as chair of its governing board.
The Marshall Plan and Recovery: German Coal and Steel
Keywords Marshall Plan, post-war chaos and poverty, German reconstruction, ERP College Family, Home, and Social Sciences Abstract The European Recovery Program, commonly known as the Marshall Plan, is generally hailed as the greatest success in the history of U.S. foreign aid. From 1948 through 1951, the Marshall Plan supplied $13.3 billion dollars of aid to Western Europe.
CIRM success story dies quiet death - Capitol Weekly
News Cancer cells. Cancer outbreak and treatment for malignant cancer. Image by Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeencells in a human body. 3d illustration by DAVID JENSEN posted 04.29.2024 Twitter Facebook Email A once-heralded research venture by the state of California that targeted “don’t eat me” signals that protect cancer cells has now ended. The potential treatment’s obituary boiled down to one phrase repeated six times and buried deep in a corporate document.
CIRM considers hold on grants amid deluge of applications - Capitol Weekly
News CIRM chair Vito Imbasciani at the January CIRM board meeting, which was both online and in-person. California Stem Cell Report photo by DAVID JENSEN posted 02.20.2024 Twitter Facebook Email California’s $12 billion stem cell agency is under “’unprecedented strain” and is ready to impose a five-month hold on applications for the key, $15 million research awards that support the final steps in bringing revolutionary treatments to patients.
Amidst CalPERS suit, CIRM founder hosts megabucks Biden fundraiser - Capitol Weekly
News Robert Klein, Art Torres and Jonathon Thomas. Photo courtesy of the California Stem Cell Report by DAVID JENSEN posted 02.13.2024 Twitter Facebook Email The man considered to be the father of the $12 billion California stem cell agency popped up in the news twice this month, once in a $38 million Sacramento lawsuit and then again as the host this month of a Biden campaign fundraiser whose tickets cost as much as $100,000.
Rare stem cell success gives young girl life outside the bubble - Capitol Weekly
News Sheersha Sulack and Donald Kohn (with glasses) earlier this year on the day she received a cell treatment. by DAVID JENSEN posted 12.20.2023 Twitter Facebook Email One year ago this month, five-year-old Sheersha Sulack asked Santa to bring her a suitcase to carry her toys with her for an arduous treatment that her parents hoped would save her from a rare, life-threatening affliction known as the bubble baby disease.
OPINION: It’s time for Nick Begich III to be honest about Donald Trump
The recent commentary by Nick Begich III demonstrated a level of pandering dishonesty that is unsurprising for anyone in Alaska who watched the spectacle of his floundering campaign during 2022. What is surprising is how early Begich seems to be grasping at straws this time around.
CA stem cell agency gets interim chief - Capitol Weekly
News CIRM Board Chairman Vito Imbasciani, with interim president Jonathan Thomas, photo courtesy of CIRM by DAVID JENSEN posted 12.19.2023 Twitter Facebook Email The former chairman of the California stem cell agency is back on the job with the $12 billion agency – this time as its interim president while a search proceeds for a permanent chief executive officer.
With CIRM funds, UCD stem cell ‘fairy godmother’ leads fight against spina bifida - Capitol Weekly
News Emily and Robbie with UCD's Diana Farmer. Photo courtesy of UCD by DAVID JENSEN posted 12.05.2023 Twitter Facebook Email The California stem cell agency had a $9 million moment last week that involved a “stem cell fairy godmother,” two English bulldogs named Darla and Spanky, four lambs and a baby from Texas named Robbie. While it took the agency only moments to hand out the $9 million, it took the fairy godmother more than 25 years to make it happen. Meet Diana L.
Amidst morale ‘crisis,’ CA stem cell agency could take months to find new president - Capitol Weekly
News The Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research building at University of California Irvine, a CIRM major facility. Photo courtesy of CIRM by DAVID JENSEN posted 11.29.2023 Twitter Facebook Email California’s $12 billion stem cell and gene therapy program could be treading water for the next 12 months in the view of at least one of its leaders as it searches for a new president of the 19-year-old enterprise.
CA stem cell program CEO abruptly resigns - Capitol Weekly
News Maria T. Millan CIRM photo by DAVID JENSEN posted 11.08.2023 Twitter Facebook Email The chief executive officer of California’s $12 billion stem cell and gene therapy program, Maria T. Millan, resigned abruptly this week, leaving what is the largest such state research effort in the nation without even an interim leader. Millan gave no reason for her departure nor did the agency itself. Her last day at work will be next week, Nov. 17.
Stem cell agency launches research into mental health disorders - Capitol Weekly
News Gene therapy, image by Natali _ Mis by DAVID JENSEN posted 10.05.2023 Twitter Facebook Email California launched a $111 million research program last week aimed at developing genetic tools and treatments to help the millions of persons afflicted with mental disorders ranging from autism to schizophrenia. The action came amid news that nine out of 10 Californians believe that a mental health crisis exists in the US, according to a public opinion poll, also last week.
Stem cell agency’s DEI program still a work in progress - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email They were perfect 10s. And the chair of the $12 billion California stem cell agency made a point of bringing that to public attention. The occasion was a meeting of directors of the agency last month to approve $50 million in awards to researchers. The 10 was the score chalked up by two then unidentified applicants to study HIV and leukemia. The perfect marks came on the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) portion of the application.
$90 Million Neuropsychiatric Research Plan Hits Bump at California's Stem Cell Agency
A $90 million California proposal to dig into genetic causes of neuropsychiatric disorders ranging from autism to dementia stumbled today when some state stem cell agency directors sought more clarity on exactly what was being proposed. The plan ran into objections during a meeting of the agency’s task force on neuro diseases.
Life or death choices ahead for California Institute for Regenerative Medicine - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email Directors of the $12 billion California stem cell agency will face a fundamental question next week that could determine whether its efforts to produce revolutionary treatments for afflictions ranging from heart disease to cancer will live or die.
CA stem cell agency boosts spending amidst state budget deficit - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email It was a $24-million-a-minute meeting for California’s stem cell and gene therapy agency. On the table was a nearly half-billion-dollar research plan to develop revolutionary stem cell and genetic treatments for afflictions ranging from cancer to heart disease. The proposed budget boosted spending by 41 percent for 2023-24 over expenditures for the current fiscal year. Cut by 27 percent were awards for basic research.
California researchers vie for millions in stem cell dollars - Capitol Weekly
News by posted Twitter Facebook Email Nine California research organizations will vie behind closed doors this week as the state’s stem cell agency scores their bids to kick off what would be a first-in-the-nation, $80 million manufacturing network to speed the development of revolutionary medical therapies.
A Cephalometric Analysis Assessing the Validity of Camper’s Plane to Establishing the Occlusal Plane in Edentulous Patients
Abstract : Complete denture fabrication requires multiple clinical and laboratory steps. One of the most critical clinical steps is establishing an anatomical occlusal plane based on hard and soft tissue references. The aim of this study was to determine whether age or gender affects the level of the Ala-Tragus plane to establish which reference point on the Tragus should be used when fabricating the occlusal plane in edentulous patients.
Ripple effects? California's stem cell agency and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank - Capitol Weekly
News by posted Twitter Facebook Email It was a multibillion-dollar bank run that took place, at least partially, on a bus in Bozeman, Montana. And it could involve some of the scores of companies backed with tens of millions of dollars in research awards from the $12 billion California stem cell agency.
$1.5 Billion Up For Grabs on Neuro Diseases: California is Devising Plan on How to Spend It
Jonathan Sebat of UC San Diego in 2019 Speak up! That’s the advice to scientists from Jonathan Sebat of UC San Diego, a researcher who probes the genetics of psychiatric disorders. The admonition came in 2017 when Sebat wrote, “If a major function of the scientific enterprise is to promote policy-making based on scientific evidence, scientists need to speak out.” Next week, California neuroscientists (among others) will have a chance to do just that.
How to fold Indigenous ethics into psychedelics studies
Over thousands of years, Indigenous communities have cultivated relationships with and accumulated knowledge on psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms, the Amazonian botanical brew ayahuasca, and the West African shrub iboga. More recently, psychedelics have exploded onto the stage of Western science. Clinical trials of these substances in the past 15 years have produced remarkable results in the treatment of depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and end-of-life anxiety.
Taxpayer Financing of Medical Research and Zero Responsibility to Consumers: 'We Have to End That'
Bernie Sanders, the acerbic senator from Vermont, is now chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. It’s a post that makes him extremely influential over certain matters in the American healthcare system. This week, Kaiser Health News asked him “what are the parts you think you can change?” His answer should ring some bells in the biomedical community.
Stem cell agency chooses new board chair amidst funding uncertainty - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – Vito Imbasciani is a man of many parts. Pianist, linguist (English, French, Italian Spanish, German), surgeon, urologist, combat physician, musicologist and head of the $440 million state Department of Veterans Affairs – all of that, at least so far.
Bubble Babies, UCLA and the California Stem Cell Agency: What's Next?
Five-year-old Sheersha has a simple Christmas gift wish. She is asking Santa to give her a suitcase so she can pack her clothes and toys in it when she goes to the hospital for a life-saving treatment for the rare “bubble baby” disease. Sheersha and her mother, Shayla Sulack, learned only two weeks ago that the once-abandoned gene therapy is scheduled to become available again in a clinical trial early next year. Their story is part of a saga that spans nearly three years and is not yet over.
'He Lifted Us Up:' CIRM Mourns Loss of Patient Advocate Leader and Spokesman
“CIRM lost its voice this weekend.” I couldn’t say it better. That’s how the California stem cell agency announced that its long-time spokesperson and director of patient advocacy, Kevin McCormack, died suddenly last Sunday. The past week has been marked by an outpouring of tributes and grief from members of the agency’s governing board, its staff and former employees of what is known officially known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
In unusual move, Gov. Newsom smacks stem cell agency - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email Gov. Gavin Newsom has rebuked California’s stem cell agency about its conduct of the election of a new chairperson for the $12 billion enterprise, a process that has been disrupted with the withdrawal of one candidate and the addition of a new one. Newsom’s comments came virtually on the eve of the election, a process that began last spring and was scheduled to end next week.
Clinical trials okayed for children with 'bubble boy' disease - Capitol Weekly
News by posted Twitter Facebook Email Nearly three years after a British firm abandoned a successful therapy for the life-threatening “bubble baby” disease, children will again be treated in a clinical trial backed with millions of dollars from the state of California. “It’s the best Christmas gift ever,” said the mother of an afflicted child, Andrea Fernandez. “We are so, so happy and hopeful that Jakob would have an opportunity to be in the trial soon.
The Low-Key Contest for Chair of a $12 Billion Program to Develop Revolutionary Therapies for Cancer, Heart Disease and More
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this appeared earlier today on California Weekly. California has another election coming up this fall, but it is not your usual political campaign free-for-all. Instead, it involves the leadership of the $12 billion state stem cell agency, which is trying mightily to develop “miraculous” treatments and cures for diseases that afflict -- according to its backers -- nearly half of the families in California.
Another high-stakes election looms - but largely under the radar - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email California has another election coming up this fall, but it is not your usual political campaign free-for-all. Instead, it involves the leadership of the $12 billion state stem cell agency, which is trying mightily to develop “miraculous” treatments and cures for diseases that afflict — according to its backers — half of the families in California.
Stem cell: $137 million buys more clinical trials, shared labs, research - Capitol Weekly
News by posted Twitter Facebook Email It was a $137 million day for the Golden State’s stem cell agency — no small event even for an enterprise that is backed by billions. The scientific scope covered by the $137 million was impressive. It ranged from bolstering the vaunted Alpha Clinic Network initiated around the state by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is legally known, to raising the number of CIRM’s clinical trials to 83.
Former Assembly Speaker John Pérez eyes top state stem cell job - Capitol Weekly
News by posted Twitter Facebook Email Two persons with deep ties to the University of California (UC) have been nominated for the position of chair of the governing board of the $12 billion California stem cell agency. They are John A. Pérez, chair of the UC board of regents and former leader of the state Assembly, and Emilie Marcus, executive strategy officer at the UCLA School of Medicine. It is now up to the 35-member stem cell agency board to choose between the two.
California Stem Cell Agency Upfront with Conflict of Interest Information
Editor’s note: The following article by yours truly first appeared on the Capitol Weekly online news service earlier today (Aug. 24). In a first in its 18-year history, the California stem cell agency has begun posting on its website a list of its governing board members who have conflicts of interest as they award hundreds of millions of dollars.
Stem cell agency lists own board members with conflicts of interest - Capitol Weekly
Twitter Facebook Email In a first in its 18-year history, the California stem cell agency has begun posting on its website a list of its governing board members who have conflicts of interest as they award hundreds of millions of dollars. The most recent example comes next Tuesday in a $48 million round that will benefit at least 16 public and private colleges in the Golden State and up to 400 students at a cost of $58,220 each.
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