embryonic stem cells

The retina is a lush layered field of tissue lining the back of the eye, a complex mix of specialized cells that serve as a transfer station where light signals are absorbed and sent to the brain to be translated into sight.

Researchers from University of Wisconsin, Madison have now created these unique retina cells from lowly skin cells -- opening the possibility that patients with damaged or diseased retinas might some day be able to grow themselves a cure from their own skin.

Over the past decade or so, seeking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has been a little like slamming one’s head into a brick wall. Funding was banned all together in 1996, and then President Bush loosened the ban slightly (some say negligibly) by allowing funding for embryonic stem cell lines created before August 2001. Yet, this past March, the barricade seemed to be crumbling when President Obama gave an executive order to remove the ban. But wait, all you stem cell researchers. Not so fast.

Over the past decade, no topic has been more controversial in the worlds of science, politics, and religion than stem cell research. Of course, the debate has centered over the ethics of harvesting embryonic stem cells to cure degenerative diseases. But researchers at the universities of Edinburgh and Toronto may have solved the problem by devising a method to turn human skin cells into stem cells so that can be safely transplanted into humans.

This January, news that South Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk fabricated research on cloned human stem cells brought more negative attention to an already controversial field. Hwang´s work had been believed to be a breakthrough. His technique for cloning embryonic stem cells genetically matched to patients might have been used by scientists worldwide to cure disease.

1. Cell Loss
Our liver, kidneys and other organs keep a fair number of cells in reserve; still, over time, cell loss may impair their functioning.
De Grey’s fix: Engineer embryonic stem cells to create healthy new versions of every type of body cell. Introduce the stem cells into the body to rejuvenate diseased or flagging tissues. The mechanism to deliver the various cell types to all the right places has yet to be developed.

American stem-cell researchers have been warning for years that their work is being stifled by restrictions while scientists abroad forge ahead. In 2004 that warning hit home when a breakthrough emerged from South Korea.

The national furor over human cloning is certain to continue for years, regardless of whether or not the U.S. Senate heeds President Bush's pleas to ban it. The opportunity to create embryonic stem cells that scientists say could generate every cell type in the body-thereby revolutionizing medicine-gives many people pause for ethical reasons.