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Stem cells: 5 things to know before jumping on the iPS bandwagon

Nature volume 452, pages 406–408 (2008)Cite this article

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.

Excited by their potential for biomedical research and therapy and lured by the ease with which they can be created, many researchers are looking into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Created from adult cells by a simple genetic trick, iPS cells seem to have regained an embryonic 'stemness' that might allow them to become any type of cell in the body. The concept is so appealing that some scientists and policy-makers even argue that related approaches such as therapeutic cloning and embryonic stem-cell research, which require the destruction of embryos, should be halted. But for biologists, iPS cells still present a black box. As resources pour in and patients' expectations rise, some scientists wonder whether the cells are being overhyped. Here, Nature looks at the status of the five most pertinent issues on people's minds.

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Authors
  1. David Cyranoski
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David Cyranoski is Nature's Asia–Pacific correspondent. See Editorial, page 388.

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Kyoto University Institute of Frontier Medical Scienes

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Cyranoski, D. Stem cells: 5 things to know before jumping on the iPS bandwagon. Nature 452, 406–408 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/452406a

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