lily
01-08-2007, 12:13 AM
I have heard of parents that have frozen umbilical cord, in case they would need it for their own child, but this......I haven't heard of. Sounds promising and I don't think anyone could object on any moral grounds (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16513279/site/newsweek/)
A New Era Begins
Stem cells derived from amniotic fluid show great promise in the lab and may
end the divisive ethical debate once and for all.
Jan. 7, 2007 - Stem-cell research is divided into two major camps: one
focused on cells from adults, the other on the controversial technique that
destroys embryos. But important research published Sunday supports the idea
of a third way, a new category of stem cells that are readily available,
perhaps ethically trouble-free and possibly as powerful and flexible in
function as their embryonic counterparts: "amniotic-fluid stem cells," found
in both the placenta and the liquid that surrounds growing fetuses.
The cells are "neither embryonic nor adult. They're somewhere in between,"
says Dr. Anthony Atala, a tissue-engineering specialist at Wake Forest
University who led the research team. (The study appears in the journal
Nature Biotechnology.) The "AFS cells" rival embryonic stem cells in their
ability to multiply and transform into many different cell types, and they
eventually could be hugely helpful to doctors in treating diseases
throughout the body and building new organs in the lab. At the same time,
the amniotic cells can be taken easily and harmlessly from the placenta or
from pregnant women by amniocentesis—which gives them the potential to
nullify, or at least bridge, the divide in the stem-cell-research debate.
One out of every 50 pregnant women undergoes amniocentesis, a procedure that
tests the fetus for genetic defects, and about 1 percent of the cells
collected by amniocentesis are stem cells. What's more, the stem cells are
also found in the placenta, which is thrown away after birth—so doctors may
obtain them from all infants, not just those subject to amniocentesis.
All of that means the cells come with little "ethical baggage," says David
Prentice, a senior fellow in life sciences at the Family Research Council,
which has a longstanding position against embryonic-stem-cell research. "I'm
just pumped up by this," adds Prentice. "It's fantastic."
The AFS cells thrive and divide in the amniotic fluid and placenta
throughout the gestation process. Scientists have studied them for several
years, but the new research is the first to fully characterize them and
demonstrate their potential. "What Dr. Atala has done is to present
eloquently, for the first time, the real power that these cells have," says
Dr. Roger De Filippo, a urologist and tissue engineer at Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles who called the research a "sentinel paper."
A New Era Begins
Stem cells derived from amniotic fluid show great promise in the lab and may
end the divisive ethical debate once and for all.
Jan. 7, 2007 - Stem-cell research is divided into two major camps: one
focused on cells from adults, the other on the controversial technique that
destroys embryos. But important research published Sunday supports the idea
of a third way, a new category of stem cells that are readily available,
perhaps ethically trouble-free and possibly as powerful and flexible in
function as their embryonic counterparts: "amniotic-fluid stem cells," found
in both the placenta and the liquid that surrounds growing fetuses.
The cells are "neither embryonic nor adult. They're somewhere in between,"
says Dr. Anthony Atala, a tissue-engineering specialist at Wake Forest
University who led the research team. (The study appears in the journal
Nature Biotechnology.) The "AFS cells" rival embryonic stem cells in their
ability to multiply and transform into many different cell types, and they
eventually could be hugely helpful to doctors in treating diseases
throughout the body and building new organs in the lab. At the same time,
the amniotic cells can be taken easily and harmlessly from the placenta or
from pregnant women by amniocentesis—which gives them the potential to
nullify, or at least bridge, the divide in the stem-cell-research debate.
One out of every 50 pregnant women undergoes amniocentesis, a procedure that
tests the fetus for genetic defects, and about 1 percent of the cells
collected by amniocentesis are stem cells. What's more, the stem cells are
also found in the placenta, which is thrown away after birth—so doctors may
obtain them from all infants, not just those subject to amniocentesis.
All of that means the cells come with little "ethical baggage," says David
Prentice, a senior fellow in life sciences at the Family Research Council,
which has a longstanding position against embryonic-stem-cell research. "I'm
just pumped up by this," adds Prentice. "It's fantastic."
The AFS cells thrive and divide in the amniotic fluid and placenta
throughout the gestation process. Scientists have studied them for several
years, but the new research is the first to fully characterize them and
demonstrate their potential. "What Dr. Atala has done is to present
eloquently, for the first time, the real power that these cells have," says
Dr. Roger De Filippo, a urologist and tissue engineer at Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles who called the research a "sentinel paper."