What's New in Life Science Research

What's New in Life Science Research is an interactive group blog sponsored by Invitrogen. Over the course of the next four weeks, we'll be exploring current issues in biotechnology as they relate to research, medicine, ethics and more. Our expert bloggers will be sharing their own unique experiences and opinions, but we encourage readers to post their own comments and questions as well. We'd also like to note that all editorial content on the blog is generated and managed by Seed editors and by the bloggers themselves.

This week, we'll be taking on the subject of stem cells, which have become a common topic not only in science, but in political and philosophical circles as well.

Stem cells are unspecified cells that can differentiate to produce multiple types of the roughly 210 types of somatic cells in the human body. They can undergo several cycles of mitotic cell division while retaining their undifferentiated state.

There are many different classes of stem cells, and they are generally labeled according to their location of origin or by some other descriptive factor. Embryonic stem cells are found in blastocysts and are said to be "pluripotent," meaning they can differentiate to form several types of cells in the human body. Adult stem cells are found in specified adult organ systems and can usually only produce cells within a specific class to replenish cells that are dead or to compensate for lost cells when injury occurs.

Researchers have documented that some adult somatic cells, or non-reproductive cells from the body such as skin cells, can be "reprogrammed" to a state very similar to that of embryonic stem cells through retroviral gene insertion, although much work remains to be done before this method can be used in medical applications, which is also the case with most other types of stem cells.

Political controversy has arisen over the question of whether or not it is ethical to use human embryonic stem cells for medical research since these cell lines are usually derived from a young (usually 4-5 day old) human embryo, with some opposing research that would harm the embryo. However, with the recent addition of Michigan this past election, most states have decided that deriving embryonic stem cell lines from embryos in excess at IVF clinics is acceptable.

So, what do you see as the ultimate potential for stem cells? How do you envision the progression of stem cell research and its applications with clinical treatments as far as timescale, productivity and implementation go? What else would you like to be doing with stem cells but cannot now? Why?

Do you use stem cells in your research, and if so, how? What do you hope to learn from your research? What are the biggest hurdles that you perceive in conducting your research- for example, have limited availability or funding affected your research? Are there any problems that have come to light as a result of the Bush Administration's stance on stem cell research they you think will play out differently with the Obama administration? Do you have any plans to do research with induced pluripotency, such as is being done in the Yamanaka Lab in Japan (and if so, why not?)?

Do you think inaccurate information regarding stem cell research affects ethical and moral positions on stem cell research? Do you think there is a connection between education and attitudes about whether or not embryonic stem cell research should occur?

Given that there have been a few breakthrough findings recently (ie: in the Yamanaka lab and in Madison, WI) that seem to offer alternate methods to obtaining pluripotent stem cells, do you think these methods should replace previous methods of deriving embryonic stem cells? How does current stem cell therapy compare to other therapies and approaches? What do you think are the biggest hurdles in Stem Cell Therapies reaching the market and what do you think will be the first therapies to hit the market?

And of course, what future do you see for the controversy surrounding stem cells- will new technologies allow scientists to bypass the ethical oppositions, or will they continue to struggle for legal support?

Let's hear your thoughts!