Scientists, ethicists welcome stem cell discovery

By Maggie Fox, Reuters, November 21, 2007

Washington, USA -- Scientists and ethicists alike welcomed the news on Tuesday that two groups had been able to reprogram ordinary skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells - the body's ultimate master cell.

<< An ampoule containing a medium for stem cell storage is displayed at the UK Stem Cell Bank in north London in this May 19, 2004 file photo. Scientists and ethicists alike welcomed the news on Tuesday that two groups had been able to reprogram ordinary skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells. (REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid)

The new cells bypass the moral and ethical questions of using a woman's egg cell to make a human embryo - which is then dissected to derive its stem cells.

Stem cells -- which scientists hope to use to treat diseases including diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal injuries - will be easier to make as well, as human eggs are very hard to come by and the cloning technology needed to make a human embryo has so far proven near impossible.

Politically, the cells would be eligible for U.S. federal funding without the need for any new legislation.

"It's a win for science and for ethics," said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"We have a technique that doesn't use women's eggs and doesn't use embryos to make very versatile pluripotent stem cells that are matched to any patient," Doerflinger said in a telephone interview.

"I think this is a wonderful advance for basic research in stem cells and maybe some day for regenerative medicine."

Two teams -- one led by James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin and the other led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan and the University of California San Francisco - reported separate methods, each using four genes, to reprogram skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells - iPS cells for short.

Pluripotent cells, such as embryonic stem cells and the new cells, can live almost forever in a lab dish and can morph into any type of cell in the body, but cannot create a baby.

Both teams said the cells are not ready for immediate use in people because potentially dangerous viruses were used to deliver the genes that transformed the cells. But they said they could be used very soon to screen new drugs and to study diseases.

"It is relatively easy to grow an entire plant from a small cutting, something that seems inconceivable in humans," said Azim Surani of Britain's University of Cambridge.

"Yet this study brings us tantalizingly close to using skin cells to grow many different types of human tissues."

PLEASING LEFT AND RIGHT

Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, said the finding should please both left-wing and right-wing critics of embryonic stem cell research, whose worries ranged from the effects on what many consider to be an innocent human being, to the potential for exploiting women for their eggs.

"This is a method for creating a stem cell line without ever having to work through, at any stage, an entity that is a viable embryo," Charo said in a statement. "Therefore, you manage to avoid many of those debates with the right-to-life community."

But Charo worried that the discovery would strengthen the resolve of U.S. President George W. Bush, who has repeatedly vetoed legislation in Congress that would widen federal funding of work on human embryonic stem cells using embryos left over at fertility clinics.

Thomson, who first made human embryonic stem cells in 1998, said scientists need to continue to work with them. Scientists may yet find that embryonic stem cells are more powerful, he said.

"The political controversy has set the field back four to five years," Thomson told reporters in a telephone briefing.

We Need Your Help to Train the
Buddhist AI Chat Bot
NORBU!
(Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding)



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your name in the payment slip. Thank you.


Dear Friends in the Dharma,

We seek your generous support to help us train NORBU, the word's first Buddhist AI Chat Bot.

Here are some ways you can contribute to this noble cause:

One-time Donation or Loan: A single contribution, regardless of its size, will go a long way in helping us reach our goal and make the Buddhist LLM a beacon of wisdom for all.

How will your donation / loan be used? Download the NORBU White Paper for details.



For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your purpose of payment (loan or donation) in the payment slip. Thank you.

Once payment is banked in, please send the payment slip via email to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv. Your donation/loan will be published and publicly acknowledged on the Buddhist Channel.

Spread the Word: Share this initiative with your friends, family and fellow Dharma enthusiasts. Join "Friends of Norbu" at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norbuchatbot. Together, we can build a stronger community and create a positive impact on a global scale.

Volunteer: If you possess expertise in AI, natural language processing, Dharma knowledge in terms of Buddhist sutras in various languages or related fields, and wish to lend your skills, please contact us. Your knowledge and passion could be invaluable to our project's success.

Your support is part of a collective effort to preserve and disseminate the profound teachings of Buddhism. By contributing to the NORBU, you become a "virtual Bodhisattva" to make Buddhist wisdom more accessible to seekers worldwide.

Thank you for helping to make NORBU a wise and compassionate Buddhist Chatbot!

May you be blessed with inner peace and wisdom,

With deepest gratitude,

Kooi F. Lim
On behalf of The Buddhist Channel Team


Note: To date, we have received the following contributions for NORBU:
US$ 75 from Gary Gach (Loan)
US$ 50 from Chong Sim Keong
MYR 300 from Wilson Tee
MYR 500 from Lim Yan Pok
MYR 50 from Oon Yeoh
MYR 200 from Ooi Poh Tin
MYR 300 from Lai Swee Pin
MYR 100 from Ong Hooi Sian
MYR 1,000 from Fam Sin Nin
MYR 500 from Oh teik Bin
MYR 300 from Yeoh Ai Guat
MYR 300 from Yong Lily
MYR 50 from Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
MYR 1,000 from Chiam Swee Ann
MYR 1,000 from Lye Veei Chiew
MYR 1,000 from Por Yong Tong
MYR 80 from Lee Wai Yee
MYR 500 from Pek Chee Hen
MYR 300 from Hor Tuck Loon
MYR 1,000 from Wise Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd
MYR 200 from Teo Yen Hua
MYR 500 from Ng Wee Keat
MYR 10,000 from Chang Quai Hung, Jackie (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from K. C. Lim & Agnes (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from Juin & Jooky Tan (Loan)
MYR 100 from Poh Boon Fong (on behalf of SXI Buddhist Students Society)
MYR 10,000 from Fam Shan-Shan (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from John Fam (Loan)
MYR 500 from Phang Cheng Kar
MYR 100 from Lee Suat Yee
MYR 500 from Teo Chwee Hoon (on behalf of Lai Siow Kee)
MYR 200 from Mak Yuen Chau

We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.

If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv


TOP