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BY AIDAN RADNEDGE
STEM cell scientists are claiming a major breakthrough after extracting new
life from,dead human embryos. Diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
could soon be treated without having to rely on live cells, researchers
say.
They have discovered a way to create stem cells that they hope will appeal
even to pro-life campaigners. One expert said the technique meant harvesting
stem cells would now be as uncontroversial as donating organs.
But others urged caution - voicing uncertainty over how damaged such embryos
might be and how to tell whether or not they were really dead. Stem cell
science, involving the creation and destruction of living embryos, is being
used to study diseases and create transplant tissue. Usually, the embryos
come from fertility clinics after IVF treatment - but now scientist Miodrag
Stojkovic believes dead or 'arrested' embryos can be used.
The latter are embryos that have stopped developing and whose cells have
stopped dividing. Mr Stojkovic and his team tested 13 of these embryos, and
found they could still be used to produce cells for kidneys, livers and skin.
This could mean many more embryos are made available to scientists in stem
cell research. Mr Stojkovic, who did the tests at Newcastle University's
Centre for Stem Cell Biology, said: 'This should get round opposition to
stem cell science because live embryos will no longer need to be used in
all experiments.' But he added that live as well as dead cells should still
be used.
Dr Donald Landry from the Columbia University Medical Center in New York,
said: 'If the embryo is dead, the issue of personhood is resolved.
'Now you're really saying "Can we take live cells from dead embryos the way
we take live organs from patients?"'
But Dr George Daley from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute warned: ' If
there was something wrong with the embryo that made it arrest, isn't there
something wrong with these cells?' The UK-based Comment on
Reproductive Ethics cautiously welcomed the idea
that there was 'no destruction of a living organism'.
But spokeswoman Josephine Quintaville added: 'There is the critical question
of how you know when an embryo is dead or not.'
[The Metro Sep25,2006]
How broken heart could mend itself
BY ANNE CAMPBELL
HEARTS damaged by disease have the capacity to heal themselves, scientists have discovered. Tests on mice revealed that proteins can guide 'repair' cells in the outer layer of the heart deeper inside a damaged orgari to rejuvenate it by forming new blood vessels. The dramatic finding is in stark contrast to the long-held belief that the heart cannot repair itself. Experts described the research as 'important and exciting' and said it has enormous potential in the fight against Britain's biggest killer. The protein - thymosin b4 - is already known for its ability to reduce muscle cell loss following a heart attack, the experts tell the latest Nature magazine. But Dr Paul Riley, from University College London, said: 'Our research has shown that blood vessel regeneration is still possible in the adult heart. 'The protein could be injected into the bloodstream - or straight into the heart muscle in emergencies.' Prof Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: 'Finding out how this protein helps to heal the heart offers enormous potential in fighting heart disease, which kills more than 105,000 people in the UK every year. His council helped fund the research at the Institute of Child Health at Great Ormond Street Hospital Prof Jeremy Pearson. associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which also funded the team, said: 'These results are important and exciting.'
Doctors gave my
Charlie heart
A YOUNG girl who used to sleep 20 hours a day and was too weak to walk up stairs is now running around her school playground after a heart transplant. A rare incurable heart condition left seven- year-old Charlie Nash, of Southsea, Hampshire, so ill she was virtually bed-ridden. After a six- hour op, Charlie was unconscious for eight days with her parents Lorraine and Ian at her bedside at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Now she is attending school full time for the first time and her mother Lorraine is planning a trek in Peru to say thank you to the hospital.