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SCIENCE : STEM CELL RESEARCH
New Pot Of Gold
Indian bio-tech laboratories are well placed to
cash in on the medical revolution expected from research on embryonic
cells. But the funding so far has been half-hearted.
By Supriya Bezbaruah
 Much
like Yves St Laurent and John Galliano, James Thompson and John Gearhart
are designers of a rare breed. Their designs dare to push the edge of
human imagination. Thompson and Gearhart are in the business of developing
organs-a kidney here to match the missing one, heart cells to replace
those withering under attack, pancreatic cells that ooze insulin for the
diabetic, blood cells for leukaemia patients, even new bones. They promise
a revolution that will transform the very concept of medical treatment.
Like all great designers, their work has inspired
countless others, and sparked more than a whiff of controversy. The basic
material for the research involves what are called stem cells drawn from
embryos. The inherent ethics involved has stirred a passionate debate
that has divided the US in the past month. And if Indians are smart, these
reservations can open an opportunity to march ahead, both in business
and science. Hard-nosed businessmen are as excited as scientists about
the cells' potential. "The mind boggles," says Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw, CEO of Biocon India, "you can grow organs in a lab, cure diseases,
even do away with blood banks."
Already, Spanish researchers have successfully
persuaded embryonic stem cells in mice to grow into insulin-producing
cells. In the US, scientists from the National Institutes of Health have
produced neurons that secret dopamine, a brain chemical the loss of which
leads to Parkinson's disease. Recently, Gearhart's team used human embryonic
stem cells to help paralysed mice move.
Less dramatic, but equally important, is the
use of stem cells to test drugs. It is a use that may finally find approval
with both pharmaceutical companies and animal rights activists. Today,
drugs come to the market after prolonged tests on animals and people to
check efficacy and harmful effects. Once stem cells are coaxed to specialise
into the required tissue, testing in animals may no longer be necessary,
making the process of drug development quicker, cheaper and more effective.
Lower in the list of money-spinning applications is basic research into
how an egg grows into a whole being, and where nature can slip, creating
deformed babies. With stem cells one can study every step in detail under
laboratory conditions which would be impossible inside a womb.
Yet, the anti-abortionists are seeing red. Coming
on the heels of the controversy of human cloning, the move to harvest
stem cells for research has generated much heat, especially in the US.
The anti-abortionists feel it is wrong to use human life as a tool. But
do stem cells constitute life? They are, after all, "blank"
cells that have not yet grown into any discernible part of the human body,
say scientists. Moreover, they are created in Petri dishes, not in the
womb.
Others disagree. US President George Bush has
limited federal funding for stem cell research and disallowed the use
of freshly-created embryos for extracting stem cells. "We can't end
some lives for the medical benefit of others," he says. So the research
will be limited to cell lines already created-about 60. A stem cell line
is a self-replenishing colony of cells farmed with great difficulty. Only
a handful of countries, including India, have such cell lines.
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DESIGNER CELLS
Embryo
cells can be the key to medical breakthroughs
1.
An egg cell is stripped of its nucleus and the nucleus of another
cell from the body is inserted into the egg.
2.
Several eggs are fertilised with sperms in the lab for infertile
couples. Not all are used. The back-up eggs are used to extract
stem cells. At present in vitro fertilisation is more commonly used
for collecting stem cells.
3.
After five or six days the egg divides itself into a group of 200-250
cells. The inner cell mass contains embryonic stem cells which have
the ability to develop into any of the 220 cell types found in human
beings.
4.
Stem cells are cultured in a Petri dish in a nutrient-rich medium
and sterile conditions.
5.
When given the right biochemical signals, stem cells are coaxed
to specialise, forming tissues like those of heart, liver, pancreas
or brain.
WHY THE EXCITEMENT
# India has better
access to embryos for extracting stem cells thanks to its large
population.
# Widely prevalent
diseases in India like diabetes and heart problems can be cured
more effectively.
# India has the manpower and expertise to
compete globally provided adequate funds are injected.
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