No need for embryonic stem cells anymore?
Scientists from England, lead by professor Austin Smith, announced that they have discovered a way to transform adult stem cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). Earlier, the only “source” of iPS were embryonic stem cells. However, with this discovery, a logical question that comes to mind is do we still need embryonic stem cells?
Since there is an ethical side of the whole story about embryonic stem cells, this might be a good thing. The ethical dilemma can be surpassed, because adult stem cells can be used to get iPS.
The process is done by using certain chemical inhibitors made by Stem Cell Sciences, a commercial company. “This proprietary technique greatly facilitates the simple, most reliable and efficient route to obtaining authentic induced pluripotent stem cells and will form the basis for the industrialization of iPS cell production,” noted Dr. Tim Allsopp, the head of the company.
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