Editor's Summary
27 March 2008
Stem cell fever
A report last December that mice with a human sickle-cell anaemia disease trait had been successfully treated with skin cells reprogrammed to become pluripotent — capable of generating many cell types — raised the media profile of iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells) from high to frenzied. They have been hailed as a breakthrough in stem cell therapy, even as sufficient grounds for stopping work on therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Not surprisingly, there has been exaggeration and misunderstanding in much of the speculation as to what can be achieved with iPSCs. David Cyranoski takes a considered view of the iPSC scene, and attempts to separate fact from fiction.
News Feature: Stem cells: 5 things to know before jumping on the iPS bandwagon
Induced pluripotent stem cells look just like embryonic stem cells, but are easier to create and free of the heavy ethics baggage. David Cyranoski separates fact from fiction in a burgeoning field.
David Cyranoski
doi:10.1038/452406a