ESTOOLS - Advances with human embryonic stem cells - The Times (London) reports "A Stem Bears Fruit"
The Times (London) reports "A Stem Bears Fruit"
20 December 2008
The Times comments on the nomination by the journal Science of Cell Reprogramming as Breakthrough of the Year for 2008.
Read the full article at The Times website.
Science (19 December 2008: Vol. 322. no. 5909, pp. 1766 - 1767 DOI: 10.1126/science.322.5909.1766) - see article - decided that the feat of "inserting genes that turn back a cell's developmental clock, researchers are gaining insights into disease and the biology of how a cell decides its fate" merited being called the science news story of the year.
The Times commented that "... cell reprogramming is an infant technology. It is not yet, as some critics of embryonic stem-cell research have argued, an “ethical alternative” that renders such experiments obsolete. The procedure addresses only in part the objections of those who would give embryos the same rights as a born person. While IPS cells can be made without destroying embryos, they are very much products of embryo research. Dr Thomson has said that they “would simply not have been derived had it not been for the past decade or so of embryonic stem-cell experiments”. Such experiments will continue to be essential. As Science noted, “several more breakthroughs are needed before cellular reprogramming yields its first cure for disease”. Scientists must still confirm that IPS cells are indeed equivalent to their embryonic counterparts and can form normal tissue. There is also important work to be done on safety: some approaches to reprogramming rely on viruses and genetic manipulations that could trigger cancer. In each case, insights gleaned from further investigations of embryonic stem cells will be critical to progress. It would also be unwise to abandon them as a clinical option, in case IPS cells prove to be more problematic than expected. Cell reprogramming may well turn out to be the future of stem-cell research. Embryonic work, however, remains a critical part of its present."
ESTOOLS commenced work on iPS cells, to complement its study of human embryonic stem cells, in January 2008.
The ESTOOLS project completed its 4 years of activity. This website remains online as a reference archive.
For hESC and iPSC news and information go to: www.eurostemcell.org
