Originally published August 15 2005
Scientists reveal non-controversial stem cell research
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists have found another way to harvest stem cells from placentas saved during childbirth, possibly alleviating the controversial practice of harvesting stem cells from aborted fetuses.
They described primitive cells found in a part of the placenta called the amnion, which they coaxed into forming a variety of cell types and which look very similar to sought-after embryonic stem cells.
"We were just blown away when we found those two genes expressed in those cells," Strom said in a telephone interview.
While powerful, their use is controversial because some people, President Bush among them, believe destroying an embryo is immoral and unethical.
Supporters of embryonic stem-cell research say it may provide an important path to a new field called regenerative medicine, in which diseases ranging from juvenile diabetes to paralysis could be cured using transplants of carefully cultivated stem cells.
Mindful of the controversy, Strom's team looked for other sources of stem cells.
Writing in the journal Stem Cells, Strom and colleagues said they looked in a part of the placenta called the amnion -- the outer membrane of the amniotic sac.
The placenta is the interface between mother and fetus during gestation, and is produced by the embryo.
Other teams of researchers, notably Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University in North Carolina, have found stem cells resembling embryonic cells in amniotic fluid, but research is still early and it is not known how useful those would be.
Strom says his cells are different are different from the ones the Wake Forest team found, and they may not be true stem cells because they did not form tumors in his experiments, as a true stem cell would.
Strom's team tested the cells in lab dishes, incubating them in various compounds, and got them to form into what looked like heart cells, nerve cells, liver cells and pancreatic cells.
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