After the Fall

After the Fall

So here’s a little more on the Korean issue and what’s happened lately. Human cloning research efforts are stepping up again in the US. The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the University of California San Diego, the University of California San Francisco, and Stanford University plan to start research on human cloning. UCSD would work with the private Burnham Institute, which has available 800 eggs left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures. Stanford intends to try to recruit scientists to work on somatic cell nuclear transfer techniques, first in animals and then in human eggs.

In Korea, Hwang has apologized but continues to blame junior researchers and assert that he could duplicate the technique, according to the Guardian. The article also reports that his home was raided today as part of the criminal investigation against him.

Meanwhile, stem cell treatment goes on. Indian newspapers, including DNA India, are reporting on a boy whose blindness in one eye was cured by a stem cell transplant, taking stem cells from his healthy right eye. This procedure has been done effectively previously, so it is not exactly news, but it is nice to hear it again, especially after so many other hopes have been dashed.

Bone Marrow Updates

Bone Marrow Updates

2 press releases came out today about various bone marrow stem cell issues. In the first, the company Gamida Cell, Inc. announced that they hope to begin clinical trials using stem cells derived from bone marrow in cardiac patients in the second half of this year. In the second, Pluristem Life Systems, Inc. announced that it has developed a method to derive hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood and use an “engineered graft” to transplant them into cancer patients. This would replace bone marrow transplants. It is in the animal experimental stage.

HESCs Grown in Rabbit Eggs

HESCs Grown in Rabbit Eggs

The BBC reported today that researchers in China claim to have derived human embryonic stem cells from rabbit eggs which had had their genetic material removed and human genetic material inserted. In other words, the rabbit eggs would be acting as the carriers for the human genetic material. According to the article, 100 rabbit eggs containing human skin cells were allowed to develop for a few days, after which embryonic stem cells were harvested and differentiated into different cells, including muscle cells.

Reaction is mixed. Some scientists say that using animal eggs is necessary because of the lack of donated human eggs. They say the cells derived this way would be used for research, not for therapeutic purposes, and that there would be no genetic material from the rabbit. The story quoted Chris O’Toole, the Head of Research Regulation at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, as saying,

The issue of mixing human and animal material is complex and not thoroughly and explicitly dealt with under the current legislation. However, the HFEA has looked at this issue last September and concluded that any research that involves putting a human cell's nucleus into an animal egg would require a licence from us.

As with all research involving human embryos, the research team would have to show that the research is both necessary and desirable, and that any embryo created could not be allowed to develop for longer than 14 days or be implanted in a woman.

Fourteen days is the point at which the blastocyst stops being capable of spontaneously dividing into an identical collection of cells—twinning—and begins differentiation into specific cell types.

Other groups are concerned about the creation of such a hybrid. There is also concern raised that this would discourage the donation of eggs from humans.

We’ll see. This seems like a reasonable research alternative, but I think there is a large “yuck factor” that will prevent this technique from being used for any sort of therapy.

Article by Paralysis Patient

Article by Paralysis Patient

Wired News printed a column written by a man, Steven Edwards, who was paralyzed nine years ago. In it, he talks about his disappointment after the Korea scandal but also points to and provides links to some new drug research, potential clinical trials, and other studies being done (mostly outside the field of stem cell research). He also talks about some of the issues related to spinal paralysis. If you’re interested in paralysis issues, go to this article and follow his links. I won’t report separately on them here because Mr. Edwards has done a nice job summarizing them in his commentary, and he should retain the credit!