Google Trends is a supplemental service of Google Incorporated that analyzes trend data collected through Google Search.
Importantly, it shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to total search-volume across various regions of the world and in various languages.
It is an absolutely incredible market research tool for assessing stem cell market dynamics, because it reflects real-time social behavior related to specific stem cell types and provides public access to Google’s online search information.
Google Trend Analysis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)
The first graph below provides Google trend data specific for the term “mesenchymal stem cell” (singular version) versus “mesenchymal stem cells” (plural version), over a ten-year history.
The critical point of this graph is to compare the relative search volumes.
The average interest over time in the term “mesenchymal stem cell” is shown in blue and the average interest over time in the term “mesenchymal stem cells” is shown in red.
The important finding from this graph is that online searches for the term “mesenchymal stem cells” (plural version) are approximately twice as common as online searches for the term “mesenchymal stem cell” (singular version).
Another interesting finding from this graph is that for the search term “mesenchymal stem cells,” the overall trend was slightly upward from 2006 to 2011 and then slightly downward from 2001 to present.
However, for the term “mesenchymal stem cell” (singular) the overall trend was slightly downward from 2006 to present, the full 10 year history. Trend lines have been added to the graph to highlight these trends.
FIGURE: Comparison of Google Trend Data for “Mesenchymal Stem Cell” vs. “Mesenchymal Stem Cells over a 10-Year History
Source: Google Trends,. ‘Google Trends’. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Five-Year Analysis of Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Trends
The analysis below uses Google Trend data for the term “mesenchymal stem cells” (plural version), because the previous section determined it to be substantially more representative of online search behavior than “mesenchymal stem cell” (singular version).
In the image below, the search term “mesenchymal stem cells” was examined over a five-year history to observe recent trends in greater detail.
FIGURE: Google Trend Data for “Mesenchymal Stem Cells” over a 5-Year History
Source: Google Trends,. ‘Google Trends’. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
In the graph above, there are a lot of small spikes that can be observed within the data set, of which several be explained by the release of a “News Headline.”
These peaks are labeled within a letter (A, B, C…) in the graph.
7 News Headlines that Correlate with Changes in Google Trend Data
There are seven news headlines that occurred over a trailing five-year period that correlated with changes in the Google Trend data, marked with the letters A through G in the previous graph (with A being the most recent and G being the oldest).
These news headlines are:
- A: “New York High School Scientists Win Regional Siemens Competition at Carnegie Mellon University for Research on Improving Reproductive Health Through Meiosis and Aortic-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells” (Link)
- B: “New York High School Scientists Win Regional Siemens Competition at Carnegie Mellon University for Research on Improving Reproductive Health Through Meiosis and Aortic-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells” (Link)
- C: “ZIOPHARM and Intrexon Announce Presentation of Data Highlighting Regulated Gene Expression System in Tumor-Homing Mesenchymal Stem Cells” (Link)
- D: “Cardium Reports On Potential Use Of Excellagen To Repair Prenatally Diagnosed Birth Defects Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells” (Link)
- E: “Stemedica and Scripps to Jointly Investigate Therapeutic Effect of Ischemia Tolerant Mesenchymal Stem Cells (itMSC) and Stem Cell Factors in Lung Injury and Sepsis” (Link)
- F: “Stemedica and Scripps to Jointly Investigate Therapeutic Effect of Ischemia Tolerant Mesenchymal Stem Cells (itMSC) and Stem Cell Factors in Lung Injury and Sepsis” (Link)
- G: “Stemedia Completed Enrollment in First Cohort of Patients with Ischemic Stroke Utilizing Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells” (Link)
Interestingly, the company Stemedica was responsible for the first three news headlines that Google Trends identified as significant to MSC search behavior. However, it does not appear again on the graph after 2013.
Google Trend data is one of many different metrics than can be used to assess trends within the MSC market. Other important metrics include rates of MSC scientific publications, grants, clinical trials, patents, market competitors, and more.
To access this data and more, view the global strategic report “Mesenchymal Stem Cells – Advances & Applications.”
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