Células-tronco adultas e embrionárias são quase idênticas

terça-feira, setembro 13, 2011


A study released Sunday shows embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are almost identical. Since human IPS cells were first produced from mouse cells in 2006 and from human cells in 2007, it has been thought they were equivalent to embryonic stem cells, which are controversial because they are derived from human embryos. But new research, directed by Josh Coon, a UW-Madison associate professor of chemistry and biomolecular chemistry, shows the proteins in the two types of cells are almost identical...Coon, whose lab did the research in collaboration with Thompson’s lab, said there is less than a 1 percent difference in the proteins between one cell type and the other. 


Alguns pensamentos sobre a pesquisa com células-tronco embrionárias:

Dr. Yamanaka was an assistant professor of pharmacology doing research involving embryonic stem cells when he made the social call to the clinic about eight years ago. At the friend’s invitation, he looked down the microscope at one of the human embryos stored at the clinic. The glimpse changed his scientific career. 

“When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters,” said Dr. Yamanaka, 45, a father of two and now a professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences at Kyoto University. “I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.” 

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka 


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NOTA DESTE BLOGGER:

A pesquisa com células-tronco embrionárias [leia-se pesquisa feita com um ser humano] levanta questões éticas e morais muito importantes.

Os pesquisadores mais expoentes nesta área reconhecem isso, e sendo assim a sociedade não pode, como fez recentemente, assinar um cheque em branco para os cientistas pesquisarem nesta área científica, e o Senado brasileiro incompetente e mal assessorado nesta área científica não levou em conta devidamente as questões éticas, morais desta pesquisa.

Um ponto que não foi abordado por Mayana Zatz: a terapia não será democraticamente empregada: somente os ricos, os muito ricos, é que terão acesso a este tipo de tratamento médico.

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