I'll bet many of you have read the latest news stories about how skin cells have been coaxed to behave like embryonic stem cells. This is a fascinating study and one that bears follow-up in the months/years ahead.
However, contrary to President Bush's recent comments, these findings do not eliminate the need for human embryonic stem cell research, nor will it end the stem cell debate. In order to prove that these new skin-derived stem cells are as good as, or better than, human embryonic stem cells, direct comparisons must be made between them under a variety of conditions. In order to make direct comparisons, all stem cell types are needed, embryonic and otherwise. To limit further study on skin-derived stem cells alone, it would never allow us to answer the question of which cell type might work best for diabetes, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord injury, etc.
In no way does this minimize the significance of findings regarding skin-derived stem cells or stem cells derived from other tissue types. But I do think that it's important to ensure that stem cell researchers have access to a wide variety of cell types for future study, including human embryonic stem cells. Let's keep this issue at the forefront and encourage federal funding for all stem cell research.
1 comment:
This will not have effect as a matter of fact, that's what I suppose.
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