CGS-authored
A Japanese scientist with research ties to the Bay Area reported today a breakthrough in stem cell research that has the potential to quell the field's ethical controversies.
In a study in the journal Cell, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and a team of scientists in Kyoto, Japan, reported successfully reprogramming human skin cells to function as working stem cells akin to those currently derived from human embryos.
A similar success was reported today in the journal Science by a second group of scientists at the University of Wisconsin.
"If these findings hold up, they could disconnect the stem cell debate from culture-war battles over embryo politics and abortion rights, and put an end to the use of embryonic stem cell research as a political wedge issue," commented Marcy Darnovsky, associate executive director for the Oakland-based nonprofit Center for Genetics and Society.
Both research groups introduced genes into the skin cells that make the cells pluripotent, giving them the capability to develop into any kind of cell, which could potentially be used to generate new tissue or organs for human beings.
Dr...