Slog - Comments on One correction http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction In my column this week, I claimed: It is not clear that adult human cells can be reprogrammed; there is only one hint in all the scientific literature. Uh, better make that two hints: Previous efforts to obtain embryonic stem cells from cloned primate embryos have failed. Korean cloning scientist Woo Sook Hwang lost his job over fabricated successes using human eggs. But Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon National Primate Research Centre in the United States said he had succeeded using modified Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, or SCNT, in which an egg cell nucleus is removed and replaced with a... Copyright 2008 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:51:20 -0800 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:16:28 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Will in Seattle You would be wrong.

siRNA, miRNA, and various other RNA snippets are constantly modifying your cells all the time.

try to keep up ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748877 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748877 Conflict of Interest Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:22:07 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Oh, and the YIELDS of these modified stem cells (made from skin cells) is something like 4 to 5 from 1,000,000 cells.

Low yields like that won't do for actual scientific research.

Tell Bush to sod off.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748879 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748879 Conflict of Interest Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:24:20 -0800 Comment by arjache Unfortunately Mitalipov's approach sounds like it would be even more controversial than traditional embryonic stem cell research. Yes, with the new technique you're starting from an adult cell - but then you end up effectively cloning the adult, growing the clone to the embryo stage, and *then* harvesting the stem cells. I have a hard time imagining a process involving both cloning *and* embryos gaining any political popularity today.

]]> arjache http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748980 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748980 Conflict of Interest Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:12:37 -0800 Comment by Jonathan Golob arjache --

I think you're totally correct about the political implications.

I find this scientifically interesting because it's only the second demonstration that adult primate cells can be turned into pluripotent (embryonic stem cell-like) cells, by any means. Without evidence like this and the cloning paper I cited in the column, I'd doubt that any bit of genetic trickery could wipe clean the genome of an adult human cell.

]]> Jonathan Golob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748998 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c748998 Conflict of Interest Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:34:10 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle @3 - and what if they "accidentally" brushed some skin off you and used it to grow things?

At least with stem cells donated, you have clear consent forms.

Meanwhile our scientists keep moving out of the USA ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c749014 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c749014 Conflict of Interest Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:58:52 -0800 Comment by kvsanmh hmlwo yznj yocz rldy ihbkxnzsd rbtmuvgkf rhzsqtxj gndk

]]> kvsanmh hmlwo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751714 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751714 Conflict of Interest Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:11:52 -0800 Comment by kvsanmh hmlwo yznj yocz rldy ihbkxnzsd rbtmuvgkf rhzsqtxj gndk

]]> kvsanmh hmlwo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751763 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751763 Conflict of Interest Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:16:28 -0800 Comment by kvsanmh hmlwo yznj yocz rldy ihbkxnzsd rbtmuvgkf rhzsqtxj gndk

]]> kvsanmh hmlwo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751761 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/one_correction#c751761 Conflict of Interest Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:16:28 -0800