Slog: News & Arts

RSS icon Comments on A Gigantic Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research

1

"...initial creation of human embryonic stem cells 10 years ago.."

Have we actually created them?

Posted by Lake | November 20, 2007 1:04 PM
2

Why must Science always put the good bits after the jump? None of the other niche writers (Theater, Art, Politics) feels the need for such timidity. Post forcefully, Science!

Posted by Chip | November 20, 2007 1:38 PM
3

If only we'd kept Terri Schiavo alive long enough to see this day.

Posted by Moltarr | November 20, 2007 2:01 PM
4

Actually, this is a viral insertion method, and you only get around 100 proto stem-cells out of around 1 million skin cells.

And it's of limited use as the science reporter at the Washington Post had to admit when I and others interrogated him today about it.

Don't worry, all the religious freaks will hate this too.

Posted by Will in Seattle | November 20, 2007 2:02 PM
5

the next leap will be tricorders & those little flashy lights they affix to your temples.

Posted by max solomon | November 20, 2007 2:05 PM
6

Hm...

Wouldn't obstruct replication but it does give rise to an error in replication so that the newly formed DNA strand carries with it a mutation and you've got a virus again... but this, all of this is academic.

Posted by Tyrell | November 20, 2007 2:08 PM
7

@Will: I've made this same efficiency criticism in the past. It's not great, but good enough(tm).

And, like I said, with viral insertion there is no way this could be used clinically. For in vitro work, I'd trust it. And, with tat-mediated protein transduction, I have a feeling this would work.

@Chip: You made my day with that comment.

Posted by Jonathan Golob | November 20, 2007 2:20 PM
8

Previously here.

Posted by Ryan | November 20, 2007 2:21 PM
9

There still seems so much to work out re: silencing the genetic insertions, the health of the resultant daughters through multiple passages after genomic restructuring, chromatin remodelling, etc.--It's hard to believe that these cells could become viable for use after the transformation to stem cell-like and then re-differentiation. On paper it seems like a grand breakthrough, but so did gene therapy once upon a time...

Posted by Mittens Schrodinger | November 20, 2007 2:26 PM
10

I apologize for the tasteless and cruel remark about Terri Schiavo.

Posted by Moltarr | November 20, 2007 3:13 PM
11

@6,@7 - I know, the mutation factor plus the lack of replication, and clinical non-usage makes it only a stopgap solution.

Meanwhile all the bio research money is flooding offshore.

Way to kill America, radical fundies!

Posted by Will in Seattle | November 20, 2007 4:18 PM
12

meyicpb ymruzfi oxjizbhd wcaerhb opmj oyjxm xcunetm

Posted by otuh zfexvpjcr | December 2, 2007 6:23 PM
13

viajmpx lrtouyd usliczy sjltunhw zkpclo siwagt spyjvqbli http://www.ipnudz.imcfplnz.com

Posted by ivjz ghsx | December 2, 2007 6:23 PM

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 45 days old).