Replies to post #150003 on Biotech Values

[oc631]

Inject stem cells + ? = magical migration of the cells to the correct location and their magical differentiation into the appropriate cell type

The latest trend seems to focus on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from patient skin cells plus four isolated genes (no donor). Researcher Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel prize in medicine this month for his teams discovery of iPS cells



http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121012f3.html




"In a study published in 1962, Gurdon took a cell from a tadpole's gut, extracted the nucleus and inserted it into the egg cell of an adult frog whose own nucleus had been removed. The reprogrammed egg cell developed into a tadpole with the genetic characteristics of the original tadpole, and subsequent trials yielded adult frogs."

"Yamanaka, 50, built on Gurdon's work by adding four genes to a skin cell from a mouse, returning it to its immature state as a stem cell with the potential to become any cell in the body."



http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121011a2.html



Induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells, invented by Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka, are "a key" for resolving the last remaining problem in developing a promising cure for eye diseases, according to researcher Masayo Takahashi.





Takahashi, a 51-year-old project leader at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology, plans to start clinical research as early as fiscal 2013 to transplant retinal cells made from iPS cells into the eyes of age-related macular degeneration patients to help restore their sight.