A new method of producing stem cells is being described as a \"game-changing\" scientific breakthrough. <\/p>\n
It is said that the research, carried out by scientists in Japan, could hail a new era of personalised medicine, offering hope to sufferers of diseases such as stroke, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. <\/p>\n
The scientists bathed blood cells in a weak acidic solution for half an hour, which made the adult cells shrink and go back to their embryonic stem cell state. Using this process, a patient's own specially created stem cells could then be re-injected back into the body to help mend damaged organs. <\/p>\n
The scientists in Japan used mice in this experiment but believe the approach may also work on human cells too. <\/p>\n
The new method - much cheaper and faster than before - is being heralded as revolutionary, and could bring stem cell therapy a step closer, and all without the controversy linked to the use of human embryos. <\/p>\n
But there is still research that some find ethically questionable. <\/p>\n
On Inside Story: Is the controversy over using human embryos over? And how should ethics determine medical progress? <\/p>\n
Presenter: Shiulie Ghosh <\/p>\n
Guests: <\/p>\n
Dusko Ilic, a reader in Stem Cell Science at King's College London School ofMedicine <\/p>\n
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\nThe ethics of medical progress<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"