Stem Cells That Quieted Ethical Debate Turn 10
Before the ability to tinker with normal cells was developed, scientists had to use stem cells derived primarily from eggs fertilized in vitro in clinics.
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What Stem Cell Researchers Talk About When They Talk About Ethics
This year marks an anniversary that in all probability flew under your radar: The iPSC is 10-years-old... But iPSCs are normal cells, such as skin or blood cells, which have been tinkered with and reprogrammed to revert to an embryonic-like state. They are then capable of reproducing as stem cells or developing into other types of human cells (pluripotent), such as liver, heart, pancreatic or nerve cells. So the ability to derive a stem cell without using human embryonic tissue changed the debate about stem cell research ethics. (Venton, 10/18)