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In a Cloning First, Scientists Create Stem Cells From Adults

Posted by samzenpus on from the use-your-cells dept.

Trax3001BBS (2368736) writes in with news about a breakthrough in creating stem cells perfectly matched to a person's DNA. "...Lanza's group used caffeine to prevent the fused egg from dividing prematurely. Rather than leaving the egg with its newly introduced DNA for 30 minutes before activating the dividing stage, they let the eggs rest for about two hours. This gave the DNA enough time to acclimate to its new environment and interact with the egg's development factors, which erased each of the donor cell's existing history and reprogrammed it to act like a brand new cell in an embryo.'"

6 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there anything caffeine can't do?

  2. Have their findings been independently reproduced? by mmell · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Once that's done, we can proceed to the next step - actually doing useful medical research to provide cures and treatments. So far, we have high hopes for stem cells. It would sure be nice if we could actually make the current theories and experimental research into something more than just the search for pure academic knowledge (*gives the religious fundamentalists a dirty look for slowing us down for so long*)

  3. Re:Have their findings been independently reproduc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Selling immortality treatments means: profit.
    People living longer means: they buy more products.
    People being healthier means: they can work longer:
    More products/industry: more profit!

    I don't see how capitalism is inherently anti-science...

  4. Re:Have their findings been independently reproduc by wiggles · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, this is an independent reproduction of an experiment from Oregon in, I think, 2007. This would seem to be the real deal.

  5. Just Stem Cells? by Rich0 · · Score: 2

    Do the cells not form a blastula? The article was a bit fuzzy on the details. If these form embryonic stem cells it just seems like a matter of degree to outright produce a whole embryo, which of course means the possibility of human cloning.

  6. Re:Have their findings been independently reproduc by Stem_Cell_Brad · · Score: 2

    Private sector is not willing or able to put in the time and funding needed to perform necessary basic research. It just takes too much time, risk, and money for a company to support the basic biological research, which is what generates the big discoveries.

    Basic research (not applied or "translationsal research) in biology leads to knowledge and new techniques. It is not feasible to make a profit off of these unless you can keep the knowledge a secret up to the point of it leading to a product. By definition, for basic research the lag time and uncertainty between investment in research and conversion to a profit making product is too great to realistically expect even large companies to absorb.

    Look at the giant drug companies. They have huge research budgets. But, they can support only research that is directly applied to diseases, and only those diseases that will make a profit.