Stem Cells, Cloning and Bioethics
Technologies: Stem cells almost as powerful as embryonic stem cells can be found in amniotic fluid and used to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells, according to a U.S. research report from January 7, 2007.
The amniotic stem cells would be a non-controversial source of stem cells and a close second in terms of malleability in comparison with embryonic stem cells.
Scientists have found a way to make stem cells from unfertilized eggs, suggesting a potential alternative to controversial and technically difficult embryo cloning. The new stem cells are capable of producing many types of mature cells, but they may not be as flexible as stem cells produced in the traditional way.
The scientists derived stem cells matching the immune system of the female from which the eggs were taken. In a human patient, this would ensure that transplant cells wouldn’t be rejected as foreign material. Additionally, scientists are investigating creating disease-specific stem cells engineered to contain the same genes that give rise to such incurable killers as Alzheimer’s or diabetes. Those stem cells could be used to study how those diseases develop, and also to test treatments that might stop an ailment even before symptoms appear.
Cloning: South Korean scientists, plan to clone a monkey by the end of 2009. The scientists state that cloned monkeys could speed up the development of infallible therapies and medicines for human diseases. Monkeys are closer to human biology than any other animals and would be more reliable in developing new techniques such as gene therapy or growing new organs using stem cells. The team of scientists are being cautious about their research due to ethical and legal controversies over cloning primates.
