Do you wonder why the stem cell dispute that was supposed to propel Democrats into the White House is now a non issue? Credit the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells that can be made from normal skin cells. After this astonishing breakthrough was announced, some among “the scientists” continued to insist that cloning was necessary because the IPSCs might cause cancer. That excuse is withering on the vine. From the story:
The main obstacle to using “reprogrammed” human stem cells—the danger that they might turn cancerous—has been solved, claims a US company. PrimeGen, based in Irvine, California, says that its scientists have converted specialised adult human cells back to a seemingly embryonic state—using methods that are much less likely to trigger cancer than those deployed previously. The company also claims to be able to produce reprogrammed cells faster and much more efficiently than other scientists. Right now, the hottest area in stem cell biology is that of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, which have the ability to develop into several different tissue types.It is always wise to take such press releases issued by companies that may be looking for investment capital with a grain of salt. Still, while we are not home free yet, the foundation of the cloning agenda is cracking under our feet. If scientists want to clone, pretty soon they will have to honestly explain how they hope to use the technology to learn how to genetically engineer the human race, use cloning for fetal farming, and permit reproductive cloning. The stem cell excuse won’t fly for much longer.
