Embryonic Stem Cells

At last, some good news for embryonic stem cells

Jared Yee | 28 January 2012

In the first published results from a clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), 2 legally blind patients with macular degeneration who had been given an injection in one eye have suffered no harmful side effects and appear to have slightly better vision. The trial was sponsored by a Massachusetts biotech, Advanced Cell Technology.

Cloning in Korea

Jared Yee | 10 December 2011

The recent past of Korea’s cloning research is best described as dubious. Disgraced Seoul University professor Hwang Woo-suk claimed in 2004 to have cloned human embryos and developed stem-cell lines, but most of that work was exposed as fraud in 2005. Now another scientist, Park Se-pill, of Jeju National University, is aiming to clone human embryonic stem cells by 2015, a breakthrough that scientists still have not yet achieved.

Have embryonic stem cells crashed and burned?

Michael Cook | 19 November 2011

This is the way the joyride ends: Not with a bang but a whimper. An elevated epigraph seems appropriate for the final act of a dream which has sustained public support for human embryonic stem cell (hES cell) research for a decade. Only a year after launching a human trial for spinal cord injuries Geron Corp has pulled the plug on all stem cell research to focus on cancer drugs.

Interview: David Albert Jones on Brüstle stem cell ruling

Michael Cook | 25 October 2011

Last week the European Court of Justice, in the case of Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace, ruled that research involving the destruction of embryos cannot be patented. This provoked an uproar among stem cell scientists. BioEdge interviewed Dr David Albert Jones, director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford, about the judgement.

Sunset for a stem cell star

Michael Cook | 22 October 2011

Despite continuing huffing and puffing over the merits of human embryonic stem cells, the central issue seems to be shifting from the patients’ right to health to the scientists’ right to free inquiry. An editorial in New Scientist (Oct 17), an ardent champion of embryo research, assumes that cures will come more rapidly from adult stem cells.

European Court of Justice bans embryo patents

Michael Cook | 22 October 2011

A landmark decision by the European Court of Justice this week marks a step forward in legal recognition of the dignity of the human embryo. It settled a long-simmering legal battle by ruling that research involving the destruction of embryos cannot be patented.

Will the stem cell wars erupt again?

Michael Cook | 15 October 2011

Scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation Laboratory have scripted another perplexing episode in the on-going mystery of producing human embryonic stem cells. In a highly publicised experiment, they transferred the nucleus of a cell into a human egg and nurtured into the blastocyst stage. Then they dissected it and extracted embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cell trial to begin in UK

Michael Cook | 23 September 2011

Antibody cocktail may lead to safer stem cell therapy

Jared Yee | 20 August 2011

A Stanford University research team may have found a solution to the biggest challenge of using embryonic stem cells – that they can cause tumours. ESCs can form all forms of tissue, but that very plasticity provokes some rogue cells to form “teratomas”, peculiar mixtures of tissues that can include hair and teeth.

Closing the season for stem cell tourism

Michael Cook | 05 August 2011

Nearly a decade ago, the media’s enthusiasm for embryonic stem cell research was boundless. It was depicted as a superhighway to miraculous cures for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes and many more. The courage of a paralysed Superman, Christopher Reeve, symbolized the hope sparked by stem cell scientists.

US embryonic stem cell research can go ahead

Jared Yee | 29 July 2011

The complex series of legal battles over US federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research appears to have drawn to a close.

Possible problem with induced stem cells

Michael Cook | 14 May 2011

High hopes for the ethically less controversial variety of pluripotent stem cell have been dimmed by research published this week in Nature. A team led by Yang Xu at the University of California, San Diego, demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem cells triggered immune reactions when they were implanted into mice. In some cases, the cells were completely destroyed by the animals' immune systems.

Court lets US continue funding embryonic stem cell study

Jared Yee | 06 May 2011

After a long, complex series of legal battles, US government funding for research on human embryonic stem cells can resume, at least for the time being.

Mouse stem cells used to form a retina

Jared Yee | 15 April 2011

A retina engineered in the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan could lead to treatments for human eye diseases, including some forms of blindness.

Is Geron’s embryonic stem cell trial the dawn of a new age?

Jared Yee | 15 October 2010

Embryonic stem cells used for world-first treatment

NIH wants to redefine embryonic stem cells

Michael Cook | 02 March 2010

Advanced Cell Technology needs change to get funding

Champions of embryonic stem cells fight back in media

Michael Cook | 20 February 2010

Theology published in leading journal Stem Cell

New wrinkle in stem cell debate

Michael Cook | 10 February 2010

Stanford researchers change cells directly

New human embryonic stem cell lines to be funded in US

Michael Cook | 09 December 2009

NIH director defends research as ethical