Comments on: Scientists Produce Embryonic Stem Cells from Skin http://www.sugarstats.com/2007/11/21/scientists-produce-embryonic-stem-cells-from-skin/ Simple, Online Blood Sugar Tracking for Diabetes Management Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:49:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Scott http://www.sugarstats.com/2007/11/21/scientists-produce-embryonic-stem-cells-from-skin/#comment-18511 Scott Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:47:03 +0000 http://www.sugarstats.com/2007/11/21/scientists-produce-embryonic-stem-cells-from-skin/#comment-18511 As promising as this finding is,I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this to resolve the issue immediately. As The Wall Street Journal notes, there are plenty of hurdles. "To ferry the genes into the cells, both teams had to use dangerous viruses as a transport mechanism. Unfortunately, the DNA of those viruses can get incorporated into the genetic structure of the cells, potentially causing cancer or other unwanted side effects. Dr. Yamanaka and others are now racing to find a benign virus that won't trigger those problems." At this point, it is still very preliminary, and any tangible results are likely years away. As Robert Blelloch, a stem-cell biologist at the University of California San Francisco, who recently published his own reprogramming experiments based on Dr. Yamanaka's breakthroughs noted, unlike cloning, "the wonderful thing about this approach is that it's easy. You're going to see lots and lots of labs give it a try." As promising as this finding is,I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for this to resolve the issue immediately. As The Wall Street Journal notes, there are plenty of hurdles. “To ferry the genes into the cells, both teams had to use dangerous viruses as a transport mechanism. Unfortunately, the DNA of those viruses can get incorporated into the genetic structure of the cells, potentially causing cancer or other unwanted side effects. Dr. Yamanaka and others are now racing to find a benign virus that won’t trigger those problems.” At this point, it is still very preliminary, and any tangible results are likely years away.

As Robert Blelloch, a stem-cell biologist at the University of California San Francisco, who recently published his own reprogramming experiments based on Dr. Yamanaka’s breakthroughs noted, unlike cloning, “the wonderful thing about this approach is that it’s easy. You’re going to see lots and lots of labs give it a try.”

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