Creating stem cells from adult cells?

[Bill Innanen <Bill.Innanen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Friends,

There was a story on the ABC "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings"
last night (22 Feb.) about the possibility of immortality.  A bit
farfetched, but they had an interesting interview with one Michael
West, who is experimenting with techniques for turning adult cells
into embryonic stem cells.  From what was said the technique is much
like cloning, except that the cloned egg is not allowed to grow
beyond an early stage.

The obvious advantage to this is, of course, that the stem cells thus
produced would be *your* stem cells -- no rejection.

While the story was talking about organ replacements leading to
immortality, once you have stem cells in hand you might be able to do
something about PD.

Here's the URL of an article on the ABCNews.com web site about this.
I've included what I consider the most relevant quote for those who
don't wish to look up the entire story.  Watch out for the URL being
word wrapped by the e-mail programs - it's a long one.

ature.html

> One possible way to get there is with human embryonic stem cells -
> cells that can form every kind of human tissue.
>
>      Normally, these cells only exist for a few days at the very
> beginning of life. Now, human embryonic stem cells can be created in
> the lab.
>
>      "The concept here is to take a cell from your body," explains
> West, "and put it back into an egg cell, [as] sort of a time
> machine, taking it back in time to the beginning of life, where we
> can make all these powerful cells that can become any cell or tissue
> type for you."
>
>      Finding the way to turn those embryonic stem cells into human
> organs - in particular, the parts that break down with age, such as
> a heart or a liver - is the next big step.
>
>      There are already promising results in animals.



And here is the transcript of the TV story, again with the most
relevant quotes:

ion_trans_west.html

> The concept here is to take a cell from your body, for a patient
> that needs a new kidney or a new liver tissue, and to take that cell
> and put it back into an egg cell, sort of a time machine, taking it
> back in time to the beginning of life, where we can make these all
> powerful cells that can become any cell or tissue type for you
> that's your own cells that will not be rejected by your body.

<snip>

> MICHAEL WEST: I think the exciting point of where we're at today is
> the hardest step of all, making the clock run in reverse; taking an
> old cell, making it young again, taking a cell from a patient that
> was a skin cell and taking it back in time to make these
> all-powerful stem cells. I think that's the real miracle of
> medicine. That's the most difficult step, and that step we've
> accomplished. I think we still have challenges ahead of us to
> bringing these technologies to the clinic to help people who are
> sick. I think those challenges are less daunting than those which we
> have all ready accomplished.


Has anyone else heard of this particular line of research?

Best,
Bill
--
Bill Innanen                     <mailto: Bill.Innanen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
                           <> & <>