Report on ABC says Stem Cells can be derived from amniotic fluid

[undeterred]

instead of embryos- could provide thousands of new stem cell lines. Fluid could be taken at birth with no harm to the baby at all. This could be HUGE!

link: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-stemcells8jan08,0,2888394.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Researchers have found stem cells in human amniotic fluid that appear to have many of the key benefits of embryonic stem cells while avoiding their knottiest ethical, medical and logistical drawbacks, according to a study published today.

The stem cells -- easy to harvest from the fluid leftover from amniocentesis tests given to pregnant women -- were able to transform into new bone, heart muscle, blood vessels, fat, nerve and liver tissues, the study said.

"So far, we've been successful with every cell type we've attempted to produce from these stem cells," said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and senior author of the report published online by the journal Nature Biotechnology.

The finding points to a promising avenue of research that sidesteps the hurdles facing embryonic stem cell research, which has been stymied by moral objections to the destruction of embryos that occurs when the cells are harvested.

[Warpy]

1. Those stem cells are likely to suffer the same problems

as marrow cells, cord cells, and adipose tissue cells: differentiation.

Once the cells have differentiated into blood stem cells, fat stem cells, or other varieties, they can no longer be considered the kind of blank slate that cells harvested from blastocysts are.

[undeterred]

3. Sure, but perhaps they won't suffer the same political problems.

[valerief]

2. It's against the law of g*d to kill amniotic fluid cells. Well, if it isn't,

it will be.

[EST]

4. Anything that even indirectly comes through or from abc

is automatically suspect.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. You know, I don't care where they come from

If they're usable, then get busy with the research! It's unforgivable that research in the US has been hindered by politics.