Latest stem cell research shows it is possible to use stem cells from adult fat tissue
Let the doctors turn fat into muscle - new breakthrough beats Bush stem cell veto.
Stem Cell Research remains a hot and controversial topic throughout Western Medicine. While there is no doubt as to the medical benefits of using stem cells in treating illness and disease because of the ability of the stem cells to transform themselves into almost any other type of cell, the fact remains that most stem cells have hitherto been obtained from aborted fetuses. This highly emotive subject which never fails to produce a definite opinion, has impeded the progress of stem cell research in the United States with President Bush recently vetoing it.
The good news for stem cell research is that there may be a new and politically more acceptable source of stem cells - from the fat tissue of adults. This is the result of work carried out in California by various scientific organizations who collectively have managed to transform the stem cells from adult fat tissue into muscle cells.
Not only is this more ethically acceptable than the use of fetuses, it has the marked advantages of being more readily obtainable, it will also minimize the biggest headache of transplant surgeons - the fear or rejection. With muscle cells generated by the same body they are being returned to, the probability of rejection is very slim.
If this stem cell research can be reproduced commercially, it will mean that doctors will be able to repair and regenerate organs at will. This in turn will produce ethical and practical issues - for example, it will become relatively straightforward to prolong our existence by replacing organs as they become worn out. Is this correct in all cases? Is it correct to extend the life of someone with Alzheimer's, severe mental health issues or who is in a coma for example?
The immediate future of stem cell research now, at least, looks clear. Over the next decade, doctors and scientists will continue exploring the production of muscle cells from fat tissue with a view to seeing how far and how readily a commodity in plentiful supply (as the USA tackles its obesity problems) can be used to produce much-needed organs.
The matter of what is and what isn't acceptable in this highly controversial topic is far from over. While it may be full steam ahead again for the moment, there is no doubt that there will be more questions asked about the ethics of stem cell research.
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