skin stem cells

[mattbiernat]

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/213744

That blockbuster breakthrough was announced last week by researchers in Wisconsin and Japan, who have discovered how to genetically program human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells.

i think this is simply amazing. it will take time to ensure that the skin derived stem cells will behave the same as embryonic stem cells but this could end to the "moral" question. unless of course someone is going to consider skin derived stem cells as "potential life."

[ajkula66]

And while the skin cells are being explored, which may or may not work in the end, people with diseases that might be resolved with stem cell research will see their condition deteriorate...and worse...while their number will multiply.

My $0.02 only. I think it's pretty obvious on which side of the debate I am when it comes to stem cell research...

[iamdmc]

Being that it is a news article in a newspaper with the word "star" in its title, I have my suspicions about the validity of their "facts".

Firstly, full mobility was not restored to rats with spinal cord injury - to the best of my knowledge, they were researching a set of chemical substances that can help the rat regain some mobility in their legs after major damage to the spinal cord, but it hasn't progressed past that.

As for "programming" a differentiated skin cell to become a stem cell, I wouldn't like to say it's impossible - the very fabric of science is that nothing is impossible. It's unlikely that there would be a full restoration, though, and you would need DNA from an existing stem cell (closest thing would be in your bone marrow) to cause the skin cell to become more stem cell-like. If another person's DNA is used, it may as well be an entire organ, because you'll still need a recovery period and anti-rejection drugs. It also opens up the risk of infectious diseases to which your immune system is unprepared.

Until they can culture stem cells drawn from a person to be implanted back into that person, I don't see this research saving too many lives very soon.