No need for killing foetuses at all- with new Stem cell treatment

Note by Marc Aupiais

In the past it has been claimed there is a need to harvest stem cells from abortions to compare with adult stem cells moved back. Embryonic stem cells often cause cancer, adult stem cells (not from aborted human beings) were seen as the safest. If it is confirmed, a new method which involves straight transfer from stem cells to needed cells may do away with that so-called not really need altogether:

"Canadian scientists have turned human skin cells directly into blood cells, the first time one kind of mature human cell has been converted into another, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.

The transformation was completed without first rewinding the skin cells into the flexible pluripotent stem cells that have most frequently been used to grow tissues. By skipping the pluripotent step, the researchers believe they have skirted the risk that the replacement cells might form dangerous tumours.

The team created blood progenitor cells - mother cells that multiply to produce other blood cells - as well as mature blood cells, according to the report. Both types of cells could be useful in medical treatments, said study leader Mick Bhatia, a stem cell scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario."

in reference to: IOL Technology - A world first for stem cell research (view on Google Sidewiki)