Yesterday CBN News reported that the Nobel Prize for medicine has been awarded to John Gurdon from the United Kingdom and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan. The two scientists were involved in cell research.
The article reports:
Scientists John Gurdon from the United Kingdom and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan discovered it’s possible to take a cell out of an adult patient, strip-down the cell to what it was like when it was a brand new, healthy cell, then put that healthy cell into the patient in the part of the body that’s sick: such as the brain, the spine, or heart.
The healthy cell then regenerates and takes over the sick area, making the patient well again.
The technique has proved successful with heart patients in a study at the University of Louisville.
The cells that the scientists used were adult stem cells, not embryonic stems cells.
The article further reports:
“It’s not hype, it is really hope. I think that stem cells will likely become a routine part of the treatment of cardiovascular disease in the next few years,” Dr. Bolli said.
The discovery is good news for those who believe in the sanctity of life. Until now, much of the scientific community believed this type of cell regeneration needs to start with living, human embyos, a process that destroys the embryo.
This research will allow stem cell research to continue without creating life in order to destroy it. Adult stem cells have generally proven to be more successful in helping cure certain diseases than embryonic stem cells. This is a win for patients and for those who believe that life should not be created for the purpose of being destroyed.
