Martin Dym: The adult stem cells, for example in the skin, produce skin cells. Whereas an embryonic stem cell is capable of producing almost all cells in the body.
Martin Dym conducts research on adult stem cells at Georgetown University. He said modified adult cells – called induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells – might become an effective alternative to stem cells – taken from human embryos.
Martin Dym:The embryonic stem cell, since it can give rise to any type of cell in the body, can be used to cure, at least theoretically, any disease of the body.
But the use of embryonic stems cells raises ethical questions. Dym said scientists create the new kind of cell, IPS cell, by adding certain genes to an adult cell.
Martin Dym: So, for example, you can take a skin cell from an adult, put in some genes, and it becomes a pluripotent embryonic stem cell – almost identical to the real embryonic stem cell.
Dym said a big advantage is that these stem cells could be taken directly from the patient and used in their therapy, so their body would not reject the cells
But there’s a possible problem – the genes used to transform the adult stem cells may cause cancer in the cells. That’s one reason Dym said, IPS cells may be 5 to 10 years away from use in clinical trials.
Our thanks to Martin Dym.
Martin Dym is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology
at Georgetown University.
Please get up to date. The iPS cancer problem has been solved.
So a woman implanted with 8 embryos who already has SIX other kids DOESN’T raise ethical questions? Do you think clinics should just freeze embryos forever? I think using embryos, which would be disposed of otherwise, for stem cells is a better alternative than just throwing them away. If they’re already there, and don’t have to be made, why not? Five to ten years is a long time to wait for something that’s already here and ready to use NOW. Sometimes this website screams republican.
Great info
u know stem cell research is not that bad of a thing and maybe we could have men and women donate sperm and egg to banks to hold it so instead of having people who think stem cell research and abortions r murder the scientist could make their own embryos so no bodies feelings get hurt
Hahaha sometimes this website screams republican!
Other methods like chemicals and drugs?? So it’s ethical to pad the pockets of the ‘chemical and drug’ companies as opposed to simply using what’s readily available? Yes that’s exactly what I’d want instead of pre-existing natural human cells. Chemicals and drugs. Get real.
That’s a rarity Wilson. This place is firmly a member of the Church of AGW and constantly scaring us about ManBearPig. They’re super serial.
This is a very interesting interview