Posted on 05/29/2009 7:49:10 AM PDT by hocndoc
Robert Lanza is now reporting that his research group has produced induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) that are safe for use in humans. The website, Red Orbit, has provided a link to the original (.pdf)article. See the Time magazine news article, here.
Lanza gives credit to the pioneering work of Shinya Yamanaka:
Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), reported today in the journal Cell that his team has created stem cells using human skin cells and four proteins. The innovation builds on the breakthrough discovery in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, who similarly coaxed human skin cells to revert to a pristine, embryonic state by introducing four key genes into the cells, piggybacked on viruses.
The technique relies on proteins that induce reprogramming of the cells, rather than genes or viruses. These appear to function in a manner analogous to the stimulating factors that are currently the standard of care for low blood cell counts: The body - in this case, the cell - begins to function the way it's wanted when certain proteins are introduced.
In this study, patients' own skin cells were harvested by a small biopsy. Approximately one in 10,000 of those cells were induced to revert to the embryonic stage. While this 0.001% seems a minute fraction, it's much more significant and achieveable than the production of patient-specific cells from cloned embryos, where each cell line would require multiple donor oocytes - "eggs" - harvested from women. Obtaining those oocytes has not proven very easy, even without the ethical problem of creating and destroying a human embryo that is the twin of the cell nucleus donor.
Fasten your seat belts - things will move fast, now.
As opposed to artificial, dead humans?
A huge ping! (And rude, too, because I’ll be away from the computer for a few hours.)
Feel free to gloat, cheer, celebrate, etc.
As opposed to lab cultures.
It won’t matter. Their objective was to kill embryo’s and devalue life. Their agenda will be screwed up.
These stem cells are produced from the intended recipient’s own skin. No embryo is involved in this research.
I understand that. I am saying it probably won’t go anywhere because of the lefts agenda toward devaluing life. I do hope it works, because this will make it hard to argue around.
This will come as a great shock and disappointment to pro-choice liberals.
hocndoc, I missed your ping. Thanks for the post. I caught coleus’ ping. Redundancy can be a virtue! IIRC, Lanza had been very gung ho about human embryonic stem cells.
If this pans out it seems awfully huge. What great news!
I thought I recognized Dr. Lanza’s name. He works out of the ACT offices in Worcester, MA!
Let’s share this news by writing a letter to the editor for folks not as informed as FReepers.
Here’s a letter I wrote that was published in a religious newspaper, and two secular newspapers:
“Dear Editor:
Pro-lifers love stem cell research - the NONembryonic kind, that is. Nonembryonic stem cells, or Adult stem cells (includes umbilical cord stem cells), are also the stem cells that work. There have been over 70 successful treatments from Adult stem cells, including treatments for various Cancers, Parkinson’s Disease, Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke Damage, MS and many other diseases and injuries.
However, not even one successful treatment from embryonic stem cells.
So why does President Obama want to waste tax dollars on something that doesn’t work? Some say it’s to desensitize Americans about abortion.
I was also surprised to learn that Obama rescinded former President Bush’s policy (Executive Order 13435 of June 20, 2007) which funded Adult stem cell research. So in other words, President Obama is giving taxpayer dollars for immoral embryonic stem cell research which does not work, but wants to take away money for ethical Adult stem cell research which does work!
And we now have iPS cells which reprogram human skin cells with the same properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos, so there is absolutely no excuse for destruction and experimentation on human embryos.
Let’s not bail out another unethical and unsuccessful business, the Embryonic stem cell business.”
Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), reported today in the journal Cell that his team has created stem cells using human skin cells and four proteins. The innovation builds on the breakthrough discovery in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka, who similarly coaxed human skin cells to revert to a pristine, embryonic state by introducing four key genes into the cells, piggybacked on viruses. The technique relies on proteins that induce reprogramming of the cells, rather than genes or viruses.Thanks neverdem.
You would think this would be pretty big, wouldn’t you? However, a Google news search on “stem cells” as of Sunday morning about 1:30 AM brings up a little over 100 news stories on these cells — maybe 20 actual news articles about this monumental breakthrough.
I saw an article in New Scientist entitled: Protein programme for safer stem cells.But I doubt that many people read this magazine as I saw this in a local community college library.There was an another ad for a meeting by the London Regenerative Medicine Network which just took place in London on the 14th of May.This could be a good source to start with in regards to possible treatments in the works.If Rush or Hannity could be made aware of these developments, pressure may be brought to bare on Barky and company to put some of that porkulus waste into a real investment for the future.
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