(Stem cells, photo credit www.nhnscr.org)

How does a stem cell decide what specialized identity to adopt - or simply to remain a stem cell? A new study suggests that the conventional view, which assumes that cells are “instructed” to progress along prescribed signaling pathways, is too simplistic. Instead, it supports the idea that cells differentiate through the collective behavior of multiple genes in a network that ultimately leads to just a few endpoints - just as a marble on a hilltop can travel a nearly infinite number of downward paths, only to arrive in the same valley.

A simplistic analogy to a complex pathway, for indepth information, click on …

http://www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P1sublevel427.html

Elaine Warburton  www.geneticsandhealth.com

Cardiomyocytes 

Stem cells have been used to create heart cells under lab conditions by researchers from the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Toronto.

By supplying the right growth factors at the right time, they encouraged the cells to grow into immature versions of three different types of cardiac cell.

The three cell types they created - cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells - are each important constituents of heart muscle.

Lead reseracher Dr Gordon Keller says

“The immediate impact of this is significant as we now have an unlimited supply of these cells to study how they develop, how they function and how they respond to different drugs.   In the future, these cells may also be very effective in developing new strategies for repairing damaged hearts, following a heart attack.”

To see these heart cells in action, click on the following link to a BBC video

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7361250.stm

Elaine Warburton   www.geneticsandhealth.com

Early embryos yield stem cells,(photo courtesy of BBC news www.bbc.co.uk/news) 

The Uk’s fertility regulator Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has given the green light to two teams of scientists for the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos.

Scientists, research institutions and patient groups have challenged the UK government for much of the last year: the Department of Health wanted to prevent the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos - which would be used to create stem cells for medical research - but scientists argued it would slow down crucial work into treatments for diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes. Reason eventually triumphed and the government has now backed down.

Scientists from King’s College London and Newcastle University will now be able to carry out research using the embryos, which they hope will pave the way for new treatments for a range of diseases and conditions including diabetes.

Director of Research at Diabetes UK, Dr Iain Frame says of this highly sensitive issue:
“Diabetes UK has made a public commitment to supporting research using human embryos … However, given the pace and complexity of this area of medical research, it is also committed to reviewing its policy on this sensitive issue on a regular basis. … What is at issue here is not the possibility that science will create new forms of hybrid creatures. The law is already very clear that embryos created for the purpose of stem cell research will be destroyed.”

“Nevertheless, the question of hybrid embryos does raise ethical questions that are different in substance from those raised in previous consultations on stem cell research. The charity therefore welcomes further consultation on the question and will be consulting its stakeholders in due course.” Elaine Warburton