Skin Cells Converted to Stem Cells

WaPo reported Scientists' Work Could Clear Moral Hurdle to Embryonic Research - Scientists for the first time have turned ordinary skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells -- without having to use human eggs or make new human embryos in the process, as has always been required in the past, a Harvard research team announced yesterday. The technique uses laboratory-grown human embryonic stem cells -- such as the ones that President Bush has already approved for use by federally funded researchers -- to "reprogram" the genes in a person's skin cell, turning that skin cell into an embryonic stem cell itself. The approach -- details of which are to be published this week in the journal Science but were made public on the journal's Web site yesterday -- is still in an early stage of development. But if further studies confirm its usefulness, it could offer an end run around the heated social and religious debate that has for years overshadowed the field of human embryonic stem cell research. Since the new stem cells in this technique are essentially rejuvenated versions of a person's own skin cells, the DNA in those new stem cells matches the DNA of the person who provided the skin cells. In theory at least, that means that any tissues grown from those newly minted stem cells could be transplanted into the person to treat a disease without much risk that they would be rejected, because they would constitute an exact genetic match.

This is very good news, but I bet the Dems are ticked off, because it removes a good argument for using embryonic stem cells for research, further cheapening life, and helping their goal of unlimited abortion on demand.

Susie Madrak blogged Of course, the wingnuts will use this as a pretext to shut down embryonic stem cell research

Pejman Yousefzadeh blogged

Glenn Reynolds blogged It's still early, but I hope this pans out.