Three stem cell clones developed from existing cells in Australia

News-Medical-Net reports

In an Australian first, UNSW researchers have developed three clones of cells from existing human embryonic stem cells. The breakthrough could lead to new treatments for conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury.

“This cloning of cells involves a new technique, which is a very accurate way of extracting and then growing a single cell,” said UNSW Senior Lecturer Dr Kuldip Sidhu, who is leading the research and is based at the Diabetes Transplant Unit (DTU) at the Prince of Wales Hospital, a major teaching hospital of UNSW. “There has only been one report of cloning of cells from human embryonic stem cells anywhere else in the world - in Israel.”

This is very exciting news for diabetics and organ transplant patients. Wish these scientists God-speed.

BTW: It reminds me of a related story in March this year when Australian scientists, funded by catholic church reported growing stem cells from nose. I didn’t report it at that time because I am skeptical about any research funded by a religious body with vested interests. The following quotes summarizes their findings.

Head researcher Alan Mackay-Sim of Griffith University said the adult stem cells taken from inside the nose could potentially be used to grow nerve, heart, liver, kidney and muscle cells.

“We have got an adult stem cell which is accessible in everybody and we can grow lots of these cells and turn them into many other cell types,” Mackay-Sim told Reuters.

“Apart from neural and brain cells, they look like they can turn into blood cells, heart muscle and to skeletal muscle,” he said in an interview.