In a recent study scientists were able to clone mice with better success using a specific type of adult stem cells from hair follicles rather than embryonic stem cells.
Fuchs’ team used keratinocyte stem cells, involved in the hair growth cycle and in healing wounds to the skin, from a part of the mouse’s hair follicle called the bulge. These adult stem cells are easy to collect, quiescent—so they are not continually dividing—and remain able to develop into many cell types.
This is interesting. I don’t have strong views on the morality of using embryonic stem cells for scientific research, but I definitely object to the practice aborting fetuses for the purpose of harvesting embryonic stem cells. Finding other methods of gathering stem cells that produce the same benefits as embryonic stem cells in way that is clearly moral, less expensive and potentially more reliable is, to me, good news all around.
Technorati Tags: stem cells, embryonic stem cells
Filed under: Knowledge, Science | 1 Comment
it’s funny how despite all the evidence, large portions of the scientific community seem to be blind to the potential of non-controvertial adult stem cells in favour of embryonic stem cells, which as yet have much less clinical application.