December 12th, 2005
Overhyped, But Interesting
(Via the Muskogee Phoenix). A research team are claiming their discovery of pluripotent stem cells in bone marrow to be an important discovery: "University of Louisville researchers have coaxed stem cells from adult mice to change into brain, nerve, heart muscle and pancreatic cells." I think this is greatly overhyped; small pluripotent - or even pseudo-embryonic - cell populations have been discovered elsewhere in the body over the last year or two. This is not to demean the promise offered by a local source of suitable adult stem cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine - it's a big deal. But that isn't cause to issue calls to halt the vital work of embryonic stem cell research.