WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new discovery in embryonic stem-cell research may end up leap-frogging the political and moral debates over the procedure.
A team of researchers from Harvard University announced Aug. 21 that they had converted adult human skin cells into what appear to be the kind of stem cells found in embryos. More detailed results of their research were published Aug. 22 in the online version of the journal Science.
The discovery has the potential to defuse two significant debates over the research, which many biologists believe holds significant promise for treating several types of terminal diseases. If proved applicable to humans, the new process may avoid controversies over whether human embryos should be destroyed in the process of extracting their stem cells.
The new procedure also would negate questions over whether such embryos should be cloned using genetic material from the patient to be treated. Such “therapeutic cloning” to produce stem cells would reduce the risk of the patient's body rejecting the cells used for treatment.
Many religious conservatives and others have opposed government funding for embryonic stem-cell research because, until now, it has necessitated the destruction of the embryos used. They also have opposed therapeutic cloning because of the ethical risks posed by cloning embryos that, theoretically, have the potential to grow into cloned humans.
In 2001, President Bush limited federal funding for the research to several “lines” of stem cells already in existence. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a measure that would expand funding for research beyond that group of cells. The Senate is poised to take up that legislation after Congress returns from its summer recess in September. In July, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) angered many conservatives by announcing his support for the bill.
But in the latest research, scientists were able to “reprogram” skin cells from humans by using chemicals from already-existing embryonic stem cells from the lines Bush has approved. When treated with the chemicals, the skin cells adopted the characteristics of embryonic stem cells.
Stem cells are valued for research into treating diseases that destroy organs because of their “pluripotency,” or ability to develop into almost any kind of tissue.
Several difficulties remain in applying the process to human patients, the researchers cautioned, because scientists still must devise a way to extract the extra genetic material from the cells created by the process.
However, other teams of scientists around the world have reported recent progress in ongoing studies on the subject.