BREAKTHROUGH IN STEM CELL RESEARCH-HOPE TO MANY PATIENTS.

Two teams of scientists recently reported that they have turned human skin cells in to what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo -a feat that could quell the ethical debate troubling the field.

All they had to do, was add four genes. The genes reprogrammed the chromosomes of the skin cells, making the cells in to blank slates that should be able to run into any of the 220 cell types of the human body, be it heart, brain, blood or bone. Until now, the only way to get such human universal cells was to pluck them from a human embryo several days after fertilization, destroying the embryo in the process.

The need to destroy embryos has made stem cell research on of the most divisive political issues in the United States and many other countries. In the US, it is pitted President George W.Bush against Prominent Republicans like Nancy Regan, and patient advocates who hoped that stem cells could cure diseases like Alzheimer's. The new study could defuse the issue as the 2008 presidential election near.The reprogrammed skin cells may yet prove to have subtle differences from embryonic stem cells that come directly from human embryos, and the new method includes potentially risky steps, like introducing a cancer gene. But stem cell researchers say they are confident that it will not take long to perfect the method and today's drawbacks will prove to be temporary.

Researchers and ethicists not involved in the findings say the work, conducted by independent teams from Japan and the United States, should reshape the stem cell field. At some time in the near future,they said, today's debate over whether it is normally acceptable to create and destroy human embryos to obtain stem cells should be moot.

"Everyone was waiting for this day to come" said the Rev.Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Centre. "You should have a solution here that will address the moral objections that have been percolating for years" he added.

The White House said that Mr.Bush was "very pleased" about the new findings, adding that "by avoiding techniques that destroy life, while vigorously supporting alternative approaches, President Bush is encouraging scientific advancement within ethical boundaries."

The new method sidesteps other ethical quandaries, creating stem cells that genetically match the donor without having to resort to cloning or the requisite donation of women's eggs. Genetically matched cells would not be rejected by the immune system if used as replacement tissues for patients. Even more important, is that genetically matched cells from patients would enable them to study complex diseases,like Alzheimer's, in the laboratory.

" It is really amazing" said Dr.Leonard Zon, director of the stem cell programme at the Children's Hospital,Boston. And Dr. Douglas A. Melton, co-director said it is "ethically uncomplicated".

Learn more about this author, Sathyanarayana. C..
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Would stem cell research be responsible for taking or saving a life??
We want to hear your view. Write now!