SINGAPORE, Oct. 25–A scientific
conference on stem cells, senescence and cancer opened here on Tuesday with the
participation of about 500 top biomedical research scientists and clinicians
from United States, Europe and Asia…The Singapore conference, organized by Keystone
Symposia, the well-known organizer of scientific conferences, is the first
scientific meeting of its kind to be held outside of North America since the
founding of Keystone Symposia in 1972.The Singapore meeting aims to explore how the latest
advances in the understanding of stem cell biology and aging can be applied to
cancer cells.
Two comments. First, biology and medical research is now a fully global enterprise. I attended a conference recently in which Steve Burrill, one of the most prominent venture capitalists in life science, said their firm will not even consider funding a medical science start-up unless its business plan is international in scope. Second, stem cells, senescence (aging), and cancer all in one breath. Biology is increasingly finding the common thread in these life processes.