Embryonic stem cell research is very controversial, but the rewards could be miraculous.
On March 9th, 2009 when US President Barack Obama reversed the federal opposition to Stem Cell research, he overturned an order imposed by former President Bush. With the stroke of a pen he cleared the financial and legal limits that had been placed on the science. But I have to wonder... Why has science ignored 'adult stem cells' found in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies?
Cord blood contains haematopoietic stem cells, and there are already current therapies (eg bone marrow transplant) that use HSC to treat blood/immune diseases and cancers. So the mothers and fathers that have banked cord blood are hoping that iPS technologies come to fruition.Some medical opinion believes that it's not very beneficial to pay money to freeze cord blood in private banks unless your family has an identified genetic risk for certain diseases.
If iPS/ stem cell therapy becomes a reality, you would be able to use your skin cell or hair cell to generate stem cells for transplant, so it would only "compete" with therapies using HSC. But of course, having HSC already available is easier and better than having to generate the stem cells and then direct their differentiation into the proper cell types.
On March 9th, 2009 when US President Barack Obama reversed the federal opposition to Stem Cell research, he overturned an order imposed by former President Bush. With the stroke of a pen he cleared the financial and legal limits that had been placed on the science. But I have to wonder... Why has science ignored 'adult stem cells' found in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies?
Cord blood contains haematopoietic stem cells, and there are already current therapies (eg bone marrow transplant) that use HSC to treat blood/immune diseases and cancers. So the mothers and fathers that have banked cord blood are hoping that iPS technologies come to fruition.Some medical opinion believes that it's not very beneficial to pay money to freeze cord blood in private banks unless your family has an identified genetic risk for certain diseases.
If iPS/ stem cell therapy becomes a reality, you would be able to use your skin cell or hair cell to generate stem cells for transplant, so it would only "compete" with therapies using HSC. But of course, having HSC already available is easier and better than having to generate the stem cells and then direct their differentiation into the proper cell types.
