[extropy-chat] WT: Stem-cell ambivalence

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

It's easy to forget that stem-cell research is still in its infancy,
considering all the reports that predict it could provide treatments -
perhaps even cures - for life-threatening diseases such as
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes.
But Charles Jennings, executive director of Harvard University's Stem
Cell Institute, says there already have been some breakthroughs.
Researchers in Sweden and the United States have demonstrated, using
dopamine transplants, "clear clinical" evidence of the promise
stem-cell research holds for Parkinson's patients, he said.
And in a study by Japanese scientists, published last week in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation, stem cells taken from monkey
embryos and implanted in the brain reversed some Parkinson's symptoms
in other monkeys. The researchers say their work supports arguments
that stem cells taken from days-old embryos can be used to replace
tissues damaged by a variety of diseases.
http://washingtontimes.com/specialreport/20050109-120809-5421r.htm