iPS cells

First Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Trial

At present, there are three small human safety embryonic stem cell studies. All deal with macular degeneration-type conditions. And now, a human trial looks to soon get underway in Japan using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), that is, stem cells made from a patient’s own skin or other tissues. From the Nature News story: Having [...]

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Ethical Stem Cells as Effective as Embryonic

Recent experiments with mice indicate that induced pluripotent stem cells — that is embryonic-like stem cells made from skin — are as effective as their unethically derived cousins. From the Nature News report: A paper published in Nature today could dispel a cloud over the hopes of turning a patient’s own cells into perfectly matched [...]

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Non Embryonic Pluripotent Stem Cell Human Trial Soon?

Advanced Cell Technology claims it will soon apply to the FDA to conduct a human trial using induced pluripotent stem cells, that is, stem cells created from normal skin or other somatic cells. From the Wall Street Journal story: A Massachusetts biotechnology company said it expects as early as Friday to start the process for [...]

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Objections to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Vetted

Recently, I was tagged on twitter about a blog post entitled “Pro-Life Objections to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.” On a number of occasions, especially when I screen our documentary film Lines That Divide: The Great Stem Cell Debate, I am asked the questions this post raises. That’s when I turn to the various experts CBC [...]

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Ethics? What Ethics? Results!

By Matthew Eppinette, CBC’s New Media Manager Think Progress carries an interesting article on stem cell research and the 2012 election. In the end, “Why Stem Cells Are 2012′s Sleeper Issue” asserts that “the science [of stem cells] is far too unsettled to make clear determinations about which research [embryonic or non-embryonic] is most likely [...]

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Lead Into Gold: IPSCs Continue to Amaze

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Another breakthrough was announced by Stanford scientists using induced pluripotent stem cells. From the press release: Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have shown that iPS cells, viewed as a possible alternative to human embryonic stem cells, can mirror the defining defects of a genetic [...]

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Functional Liver Cells Made from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Good news on the iPSC front. Scientists have created working liver cells from skin cells. From the MSNBC story: British scientists have developed a new stem cell technique for growing working liver cells which could eventually avoid the need for costly and risky liver transplants. [...]

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Human Cloning Research Breakthrough Is Unethical

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC The Washington Post headline is misleading: “Scientists Report Possibly Crucial Advance in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.” In actuality, this is a potential advance in human cloning research.(Scientists have long known how to create ES cell lines from destroyed embryos.) The story, byline Rob Stein, [...]

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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Akin to Embryonic Stem Cells

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Ethical stem cell research continues to advance. The University of Wisconsin, Madison — where human ESCs were first derived — has found the IPSCs and ESCs are virtually identical. From the U of W story: A study released Sunday shows embryonic stem cells and induced [...]

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IPS Stem Cells Could Allow Human Organs to be Grown in Pigs

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Again, we see the importance of animal research, with the potential that the organ shortage could be largely solved by growing patient DNA-identical human organs in pigs for transplant. From the Telegraph story: Scientists have found they can create chimeric animals that have organs belonging [...]

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