Scientists Can Grow Stem Cells In a Petri Dish

rift321 writes "Scientists safely created induced pluripotent stem cells from human stem cells, and grew them in a petri dish. The previous methods for creating iPSC's involved the use of retroviruses, which rendered the stem cells unacceptable for human implantation due to an increased risk of cancer and mutations. The researchers used a safer, albeit slower process to modify the skin cells, using a cell-penetrating peptide to deliver the needed genes into the cell (PDF). I'd like to hear if anyone has some insight into exactly how close that brings us to everyday-use of stem cells for regenerative therapy, and exactly what obstacles remain before such therapies can be put to use."

Comments

This won't stop enbryonic research

[proclivity76]

Any heretic speech against the killing of embryos will not be tolerated and the heretics will pay dearly.

Re:Adult stem cells is the answer.

[interkin3tic]

Though fetal stem cells (taken from aborted fetuses)

Foul! ESC aren't taken from aborted fetuses, they're taken from in vitro fertilization wasted embryos: embryos that were bound for the trash, not on their way to being born. Abortions never were used for embryonic stem cells: those fetuses had already used up their pluripotent stem cells.