from the Amoebas-don't-make-motorcycles-and-atomic-bombs! dept.
There's an article in Nature on the recent stem cell trial in Japan, where a Japanese woman in her 70s:
with visual impairment had become the first person to receive a therapy derived from stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
This references an earlier Nature article on the treatment with more details on this procedure, but this article mainly focuses on the background and broader implications, and the problems faced by researchers in other countries.
A lot rides on this trial. If the procedure proves safe, it could soften the stance of regulatory bodies in other nations towards human trials of iPS cells, and it could pave the way for treatments for other conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. It could also cement Japan, recently plagued by a stem-cell scandal, as a frontrunner in iPS-cell research.
(The recent stem cell scandal [paywalled] is also covered in Nature.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 17 2014, @10:59PM
Will this technique be used for cosmetic surgery? For instance, could a chap with a small manhood use this to enlarge his member? Could a gal with a genetic disposition to hold her weight use this to slim down?
(Score: 2) by arslan on Wednesday September 17 2014, @11:30PM
Well.. IANASCB but according article IPS cells has a slight potential to cause cancerous growth.. I imagine if you inject that into your gold member and that happens, the tumorous enlargement would provide the desired effect? :)
(Score: 1) by sbgen on Thursday September 18 2014, @03:42AM
All stem cells have the potential to be cancerous. There are protocols to coax them to become the type of cells/tissue what a researcher desires. Not perfect yet by any shot but progress has been made. Let us hope this brave lady comes out well on the other end of this trial happy (for our own sake).
Warning: Not a computer expert, but got to use it. Yes, my kind does exist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 18 2014, @02:39AM
If you inject them into an area that's 'already ok' they will most likely just hang around waiting until they are needed to repair some kind of damage.
Maybe if you chopped it off, kept the tip on ice and dipped the stump into a jar of the stuff it may grow a little longer. Repeat until the desired length is achieved, then stick the tip back on.
You go first :)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 18 2014, @12:06AM
You should mention the paywalled links. /. does this, and /. is not people.
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Thursday September 18 2014, @06:58PM
Um. It is?
This could be a side effect of noscript/ghostery or where I'm browsing from, but to me that page ("The rise and fall of STAP") just links to a bunch of summary articles - they all look complete, and I'm not logged into anything. Odd.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Thursday September 18 2014, @04:00AM
This was discussed on TV in Japan yesterday. While the doctors don't expect this woman to regain any sight it should prove that the procedure is safe.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)