Brain tissues from Stem Cells
MrBrian
Posts: 2,672
Japanese researchers make brain tissues from stem cells
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese researchers said Thursday they had created functioning human brain tissues from stem cells, a world first that has raised new hopes for the treatment of disease.
Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used to form tissues of the cerebral cortex, the supreme control tower of the brain, according to researchers at the government-backed research institute Riken.
The tissues self-organised into four distinct zones very similar to the structure seen in human foetuses, and conducted neuro-activity such as transmitting electrical signals, the institute said.
Research on stem cells is seen as having the potential to save lives by helping to find cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes or to replace damaged cells, tissues and organs.
The team's previous studies showed stem cells differentiated into distinct cells but until now they had never organised into functioning tissues.
"In regenerative therapy, only a limited number of diseases can be cured with simple cell transplants. Transplanting tissues could raise hopes for greater functional recovery," the institute said in a statement
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081106/ts_afp/healthsciencestemcelljapan
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese researchers said Thursday they had created functioning human brain tissues from stem cells, a world first that has raised new hopes for the treatment of disease.
Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used to form tissues of the cerebral cortex, the supreme control tower of the brain, according to researchers at the government-backed research institute Riken.
The tissues self-organised into four distinct zones very similar to the structure seen in human foetuses, and conducted neuro-activity such as transmitting electrical signals, the institute said.
Research on stem cells is seen as having the potential to save lives by helping to find cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes or to replace damaged cells, tissues and organs.
The team's previous studies showed stem cells differentiated into distinct cells but until now they had never organised into functioning tissues.
"In regenerative therapy, only a limited number of diseases can be cured with simple cell transplants. Transplanting tissues could raise hopes for greater functional recovery," the institute said in a statement
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081106/ts_afp/healthsciencestemcelljapan
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however, you know the religious right would NEVEr want such ground-breaking research to occur in our country ya know, b/c they use stem cells from human embryos! :eek: horrors!
in all seriousness, that is amazing stuff! i fully support such research and can only imagine what can be done!
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I can not of the life of me figure why that never got big press!
The Cerebral Palsy treatment used stem cells/blood from the baby’s OWN umbilical cord.
Now if only we can get our shit together and realize the need for such research in this country.
.......and not hide it in the closet hoping nobody will notice.
I'm not sure but what is the feeling within America about it? If they had a vote 'yes stem cells' or 'no stem cells'...are you confident that the America people would be for it enough for it to have a chance in the mainstream?
Or would they back away from it because, I dunno, it's evil?
How can people decide to approve it, if it’s all lumped in together and not reported on? All stem cells do not come from a fetus. (in the case of the treatment I was talking about) I feel people might assume that because the entire work with stem cells are not being reported on a national level.
There are some incredible stories out there not being reported on.
People need to search for the info themselves and become more active in acquiring knowledge. Obvioulsy the mainstream is more worried about much smaller issues.
People just waiting for other people on the tv to tell them whats going on (like if they dont see it on CNN) need stem cell brain tissue regeneration themselves, of their entire brain.
it can make or break whatever they choose.
i feel most people are too lazy to look anything up. sheep....the lot of em'!
but not on the moving train!
Just got off the phone with the media. They hate you too.
fine! they can be that way.
of course total speculation, but my first thought is the average american would give it a 'no.' why? b/c the average american is a christian, and it seems to me that most churches teach that stem cell research is evil and wrong. yes, i know all stem cell research does not come from aborted embryos....but none the less...i think there is a LOT of misinformation out there. and when aborted embryos ARE used, well no 'good' can be allowed to come out of such an 'evil' act, etc...so sadly, i don't think we as a country are progressive enough to actually look at the big picture, and the entire issue in it's entirety. sad.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
i agree.
Joseph Hall
Health Reporter (Jun 06, 2007)
California scientists have been able to transform adult mice cells into embryonic stem cells, a process that may promise an endless and ethical supply for human research and disease treatment.
If it works in human cells, the procedure could dispense with controversial cloning technology or the use of discarded embryos from fertility clinics.
Such human stem cells, which can grow into any type of tissue in the body, could eventually be used to create personalized replacement organs that would generate no immune response in patients needing transplants.
"It's super exciting," said Kathrin Plath, a biological chemist at UCLA's Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine and a co-lead author of the study.
"It's opened up an entire field of research. There will be so many who will find this interesting who can (work with) it," she said.
The research, being published Thursday in the inaugural issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cell Stem Cell, is being heralded as a major advance in the burgeoning field of stem cell research.
"If this holds up, I think it's quite an amazing advance," said Dr. Alan Bernstein, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and one of the country's top stem cell researchers
---
We hands down need to work more on this. But I'm sure some people will still be against it.
Human skin cells have been reprogrammed by two groups of scientists to mimic embryonic stem cells with the potential to become any tissue in the body.
The breakthrough promises a plentiful new source of cells for use in research into new treatments for many diseases.
Crucially, it could mean that such research is no longer dependent on using cells from human embryos, which has proved highly controversial.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7101834.stm
:eek:
WOWZERS!
i definitely will read the links provided.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
since it's no longer fetus cells, i'd imagine people who say it's tampering with God’s creation. :rolleyes:
Just guessing what the opposition would come up with.
'playing god' will always come into play, and sure to a certain extent...i actually do believe it's healthy. just b/c we *can* do something, doesn't always mean we *should*...and thus i think it's wise for the scientific community to pause and reflect on that before proceeding.
however, in THIS instance...it at least removes the whole stigma of aborted fetuses, and thus make it a LOT less loaded option. those who may oppose it will now have to come up with far better rationale than 'benefitting from abortion'...and that can only be seen as a POSITIVE step.
science is amazing!
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I'm against cloned meat and think it's wrong to not only clone animals for human consumption. But it's even worse that it has been approved that they do not have to label the cloned meat as 'cloned' and will be able to sell it to consumers as normal.
:eek:
ack!
seriously, most definitely a case of 'just b/c we can doesn't mean we should.' i love science, i love all the possibility, the understanding, am a firm believer in the whole process. however, absolutely...i always think there needs to be a pause, a reassessment with new information of...ok, should we proceed? or shall we change direction....or abandon the idea entirely. we need to make choices along with experiementation and discovery.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
How can we process and determine if the public as a whole doesn’t know about it?
Interesting site, enjoy!
YEY!! i hope he does it.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-11-09-15-26-34
Bills have passed through Congress to authorize federal funding of embryonic stem cell research... Bush just vetoed them and Congress didn't have the support required to override the veto. All Obama has to do is *not* veto the bill, but sign it into law... something he has assured us many times he is eager to do. And with the democrats having overwhelming control of both the House and Senate, even had McCain been elected, Congress probably could've pulled the people together for veto-proof power.
It'll happen, and it'll happen soon. About damn time.
I don't understand this thinking. A "clone" is nothing more than an identical twin (with a delayed conception)... the same genetic makeup, but an entirely different creature. It's physically no different than the original animal, so why should it be labeled as if it were? Cloning a cow for human consumption isn't any different than traditionally breeding cattle for human consumption, other than the fact that w/ cloning you can choose to reproduce only superior-quality animals. But by putting it on the label, customers who don't know enough about science will think that it's somehow dangerous or different, when in fact just the opposite is true. It's an unnecessary burden on the manufacturer... cloned meat, like GM food, has to pass the same rigorous standards (USDA, EPA, FDA) that every other food on the market has to pass. Labeling requirement in the US focus on what the food consists of (its intrinsic qualities), rather than how the food is made. A good approach, imo.
Clones are Frankensteins... they're identical twins (like my 10-year-old brothers).
I made a thread about this before. They themselves are shocked that this has been approved.
Do you have any idea how many cloned animals just get sick and die? And people don't know why!
The standards are not high enough.
I disagree w/ the posters that suggest Americans would vote "no" on stem cell research. Abortion remains a legally protected right and the anti-abortion movement hasn't been able to garner a majority of support since before Roe. Studies on ESCR that I've seen on ESCR, but am not willing to take the time to find right now, have illustrated that an overwhelming consensus in America believes that the research should get done... the main question that's debated is whether or not the federal government should allocate tax dollars to funding it. And even on that end, most of the public opinion polls I've seen have shown the American people answering "yes" to that question as well. The religious right has less numbers than the loudness of their voice would indicate... not to say they are a large faction, because they certainly are, but I don't believe they represent anywhere close to 50%. My parents are both Christian conservatives (my dad is a Methodist minister in Tulsa, OK), and they both adamantly promote ESCR (my dad's sister has Alzheimer's, which doesn't exactly hurt the cause). My mom even considers herself pro-choice. So being Christian doesn't necessarily equal being fundamentalists, and there are a lot of Christian republicans who are in full support of E. stem cell research. Don't know a single liberal who isn't.
Just my experience though...
I'm a patent attorney, so a lot of the new cloning/bioengineering techniques come across my desk. I haven't kept up with the regulatory status of a lot of the new foods, so I'll defer on that issue. I have however seen the field studies that are required to get a new food on the market, and have complete trust in the American regulatory scheme. No a blind trust, as I realize anyone is capable of making enormous mistakes... but at the same time, the biotech industry knows it's on rather soft-footing w/ respect to GM foods and cloning techniques in general... that it's public support is, at best, tentative. The USDA/FDA recognizes this as well, and the fact that it would only take one isolated health scare to bankrupt most of these corporations, at least in the US/European market, is a pressing concern. It's all about $, of course, and the drivers of the industry know that unsafe food will destroy the future of the business. They're very, very careful. Look at the EU's approach, for instance... that's something that gets brought to my attention a lot during the course of my work. European's don't trust their government's food regulation anymore, due to a handful of incidences, and now that entire commercial market, from the export-biotech end anyway, is basically shut down.
Like I said, I don't know that much about the current state of cloned meat... the non-medical biotech work I've done (I'm mostly see physical engineering and space science though, due to my background) typically involves 2nd-generation agricultural biotech crops (drought resistant crops, plant pharmaceuticals, etc)... so I was speaking more abstractly about the science behind cloning itself. Whether the cloning is ethical wrong in and of itself, and whether we push the end products of cloning to the marketplace too prematurely, are entirely different questions. I was speaking more to the first, you seem to be speaking more to the second. And on that point, i totally agree -- we should set the bar very, very high... not just for GM or cloned foods, but for any new food in general that isn't "GRAS" (Generally Recognized As Safe).
You know, a simple case of bad long term business. Anyway, like we both agree the standards need to be raised. But it seems that the standards are getting lower.
Just look at the standards for even Organic foods. It's dropping, or was going to the last I checked on it. But....I'm not sure how they would be able to lable the meat cloned or not, I mean in many cases the meat could be mixed. Parts of a cloned and non cloned animal. Then comes the DNA testing to check.
I'm currently reading up on IdentiGEN. You following any of that?
This whole thing is pretty amazing and interesting, I guess we can just wait to see what happens.