Stem Cell Research Milestone Reached!!!

After a lot of research and after overcoming various setbacks the stem cell research is finally striking the right chords. Recently Japanese scientist reported that they had generated stem cells by reprogramming adult skin cells. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University was successful in turning back the clock on cheek cells from a middle-aged woman, which is simply fascinating. Earlier the scientists were using a technique called SCNT i.e. somatic cell nuclear transfer in which the genetic materials from the donor egg was removed and replaced with the genetic material from another aging cell. But the chances of success were scarce even with a constant rich supply of donor eggs and under the hands of a experienced scientist. So the best alternative was to introduce genes into the already aging cell that could reprogram it back to an embryonic state. This is the new technique that has come into existence know as iPS (Induced pluripotent stem cells). This new technique is well within the ethical barriers since no embroy's are produced. Shinya Yamanaka is the pioneer of iPS technique
Using this technique American researchers have done something quiet groundbreaking. They have created the first nerve cells from reprogrammed stem cell. The scientist at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute led by Kevin Eggan and the scientist team at Columbia University led by Christopher Henderson were successful in generating motor stem cells from the skin cells of two elderly patients with rare form of ALS. ALS is a degenerative neuronal disorder in which the motor neurons which control the voluntary movements are degenerated. The only question revolving around iPS was whether iPS works only with dedicated stem cells from adults or cells from diseased individuals can also be used for this technique. Shinya Yamanaka had used healthy individuals for his experiments but the research carried out by Eggan and Henderson silenced this debate once and for all.
All the scientists agree that the technique of iPS has a long way to go before it can be used therapeutically, mostly because iPS requires the use of viruses to deliver the time-reversing genes into adult cells but now scientists are making efforts to stimulate the time reversal process chemically rather than genetically. Actually its still unclear if the stem cells acquired this way can prove as efficient as the ones from embryo but its a major breakthrough since it is possible make patient-specific stem-cell lines to treat diseases that affect people very late in life.