Stem Cells From Skin

Stem Cells From Skin

by

I show you something fantastic and you find fault.
Published on November 20th, 2007, 4:50 pm
Rift: Sciences

George Bush clamors that "his" idea, of preventing science from sticking babies in a blender and hitting the "Mixed Drink" button has resulted in Science finding another way. After all, if it wasn't for his foresight, Michael J. Fox might actually be filming Back to the Future IV right now, and parkinson's disease might be long gone. But... we wouldn't have killed any "cells" that could have become babies.

Or that's how they're spinning it.

But I don't see how those who had ethical hang-ups about embryo stem-cells, aren't calling foul on the skin stem cells. Certainly "any" cell could result in life. I could clone your ugly aunt Jo who is hump back, and toothless... with modern cloning techniques, (eg. Dolly) yet... the fact that some goo that could "become" life is destroyed is ethically wrong?

So then comes along this:

Their breakthroughs could make possible the long-sought goal of tailor-made medicine, but without the political, scientific and ethical roadblock of using human embryos.

Both teams call the new cells induced pluripotent stem cells and say they look and act like embryonic stem cells -- the master cells that give rise to every cell and tissue in the body.

"We can now envisage a time when a simple approach can be used to produce stem cells that are able to form any tissue from a small sample taken from any of us," Ian Wilmut of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement.

Let's not forget about a week ago, they started sucking stem cells from our closest relative in the evolutionary spectrum, the 3 eyed anteater....

Apes, or Skin, it's apparent there is now a work around. George Bush is taking credit, and still Scientists can't make a freaking Hardee's burger under 80 grams of fat. The real question is what if we do find the elixir of life, and we truly can regenerate cells? In essence giving some if not all of us the ability to live as long as we want? What then? Certainly we can't "all" keep living? Certainly "that" proves to be a greater moral question than baby goo... but somehow when it comes time, Why do I feel the first to have access to longevity of life because of stem-cell technology will be those who fought it in the beginning?

Liv wrote:
Their breakthroughs could make possible the long-sought goal of tailor-made medicine, but without the political, scientific and ethical roadblock of using human embryos.

Both teams call the new cells induced pluripotent stem cells and say they look and act like embryonic stem cells -- the master cells that give rise to every cell and tissue in the body.

"We can now envisage a time when a simple approach can be used to produce stem cells that are able to form any tissue from a small sample taken from any of us," Ian Wilmut of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement.

Apes, or Skin, it's apparent there is now a work around. George Bush is taking credit, and still Scientists can't make a freaking Hardee's burger under 80 grams of fat. The real question is what if we do find the elixir of life, and we truly can regenerate cells? In essence giving some if not all of us the ability to live as long as we want? What then? Certainly we can't "all" keep living? Certainly "that" proves to be a greater moral question than baby goo... but somehow when it comes time, Why do I feel the first to have access to longevity of life because of stem-cell technology will be those who fought it in the beginning?

Well, this procedure is really interesting, and it does do wonders for the conservatives who've been clamoring on for years about the value of life (read: HUMAN life, anything else apparently doesn't matter as much). However, I'd be interested to find out what they say if these reprogrammed cells suddenly get used for the basis of cloning organisms (which, again, they don't particularly cotton to). I mean, essentially, we've reprogrammed the cells to make them behave like embryonic cells, which are the most effective in nuclear transfer cloning procedures. Really, this seems like a lose-lose for moral conservatives.

And with regard to your statement about the Fountain of Youth, it seems pretty improbable at the moment that aging will be reversed any time soon. From what we know now, the cellular mechanisms that contribute to aging (shortening of chromosomes through natural procedures) can be reversed through activation of a set of genes called telomerase. This happens in some adult cells that are referred to as "immortal", but more importantly is observed in other cells we call "cancer cells." I may be mistaken (any biochemists in the house?), but it seems like lengthening of cell life isn't without its drawbacks.

James

Canadians make stem-cell breakthrough

TORONTO — Canadian researchers have discovered a new way to turn skin cells into stem cells with fewer potential risks to patients.

Their work removes major barriers to using stem cells, which have an endless capacity for self-renewal, in new medical therapies for people with spinal cord injuries or diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson's.

“We hope these stem cells will form the basis for treatment of many diseases and conditions that are currently considered incurable,” says Andras Nagy, of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. He is the lead author of a groundbreaking paper published online Sunday by the journal Nature.

Dr. Nagy and his colleagues are the first to reprogram human skin cells to an embryonic state without using a virus, collaborating on the new technique with Keisuke Kaji from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.
...
How did they do it? The team used a jumping gene, a mobile piece of DNA also known as a transposon. In moths, corn and other species, these genes hop from chromosome to chromosome, inserting themselves randomly into the genome. They give rise to the kind of genetic variability that can help species adapt to changing conditions.

First, Dr. Nagy and his colleagues inserted the four reprogramming genes into a jumping gene from a moth. Then they put the jumping gene and its cargo into a skin cell.

The jumping gene cut and pasted the stem cell genes into a chromosome in the skin cell. The scientists were then able to coax the skin cell back to its embryonic state, giving it the superhero-like ability to turn into many types of cells.

In many cases, they found that the jumping gene then took a second leap to another chromosome. But 60 per cent of the time, the second cut-and-paste operation wasn't successful. This meant the four genes were not reinserted back into the genome of the skin cell, and disappeared, as did the jumping gene.

“It goes back to the original,” Dr. Nagy said.

The Canadian researchers were able to easily identify the stem cells that were no longer carrying the four genes.

The work is a “great advance,” says the University of Ottawa's Michael Rudnicki, a leading stem cell researcher who is not involved in the study.

“These will be relatively pristine cells that can certainly be exploited therapeutically and will be useful for research purposes,” he said.

Many scientists believe that the flexibility and regenerative power of stem cells hold great promise in the treatment of many diseases, including Alzheimer's, and that one day they may be used to repair damaged hearts, kidneys, livers or other tissue, or even to grow new organs for transplant.

Dr. Nagy's team performed the experiments on both mouse and human cells. They are now using their technique to grow stem cells from the mature cells taken from patients suffering from a variety of diseases, including cystic fibrosis.

One day, the work could allow patients to be treated with their own reprogrammed stem cells. But Dr. Nagy said it is difficult to predict how soon that could happen.

Well at least the Religious Right now no longer have any reason to object to stem cell research. I expect all barriers to such funding to be dropped forthwith.

Unfortunately stem cell treatments when available will only be afforded by the super rich...