Embryonic Stem Cells Developments

A major development in research came in May 2003, when researchers announced that they had successfully used Embryonic Stem Cells to produce human egg cells. These egg cells could potentially be used in turn to produce new Stem Cells. If research and testing proves that artificially created egg cells could be a viable source for Embryonic stem cells, they noted, then this would remove the necessity of starting a new Embryonic Stem Cell Line with the destruction of a Blastocyst. Thus, the controversy over donating human egg cells and blastocysts could potentially be resolved, though a Blastocyst would still be required to start each cycle.   

The online edition of Nature Medicine published a study on January 23, 2005 which stated that the Human Embryonic Stem CellsCulture Medium used to grow the cells, for example, mouse cells and other animal cells. The nonhuman cell-surface sialic acid can compromise the potential uses of the Embryonic stem cells in humans, according to scientists at the University of California , San Diego .  

A study was published in the online edition of Lancet Medical Journal on March 8, 2005 that detailed information about a new stem-cell line which was derived from human embryos under completely cell- and serum-free conditions. This event is significant because exposure of existing human embryonic stem-cell lines to live animal cells and serum risks contamination with pathogens that could lead to human health risks. After more than 6 months of Undifferentiated Proliferation, these cells retained the potential to form derivatives of all three embryonic Germ layers both In Vitro and in teratomas. These properties were also successfully maintained (for more than 30 passages) with the established stem-cell lines. (Lancet Medical Journal)  

Recently, in California , researchers have injected Embryonic stem cells into mice as they developed in the womb. Upon maturing, it was found that some of the human ESCs had survived and two months after injection, the researchers found that the ESCs had undertaken ?the characteristics of mouse cells? .

Scientists in Australia have grown human prostate in mice using Embryonic stem cells. In a world first, the scientists combined human Embryonic stem cells with mouse prostate cells, and used a mouse as the host to grow the human prostate. The researchers were able to show that it was also functioning as a human prostate. Doctors world wide would now be able to use this prostate as a model for studying prostate cancer and disease, and to produce future drugs. available for federally funded research are contaminated with nonhuman molecules from the