BBC: Liver cells grown from cord blood

[blackhorse]

Liver cells grown from cord blood

Scientists in the UK say they have grown tiny sections of human liver.

The sections of liver were created using stem cells from umbilical cords by a team at Newcastle University.

It is hoped the "mini-livers" will be used to test drugs, avoiding incidents like the Northwick Park trial in which six patients became seriously ill.

But other experts warned, because the work was unpublished, it was not possible to assess its worth and that cells made in this way were unreliable.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6101420.stm

[soothsayer]

1. the liver is so regenerative, I wonder why you can't grow liver cells

from liver cells. It'll regenerate what, like 70% of itself or something? Heck, even the ancients knew it, having poor Prometheus' liver devoured by an eagle every day, only to have it grow back overnight.

[mcscajun]

2. Until there's a peer-reviewed published work on this research

I'm not getting too excited over it.

[hedgehog]

5. Why are you so worried that scientists may be able to develop

the same technology from umbilical stem cells that they are attempting to develop from embryonic stem cells? It seem s to me that if this works, we should all be happy to sidestep the entire issue of embryonic stem cells.

[mcscajun]

9. I'm not worried at all. I just recall the many reports in the 80s

and early 80s about "Cold Fusion" -- and I recall how those panned out.

This isn't a scientific report without peer review -- it's speculation.

[Egnever]

3. The breakthroughs are starting to come fast

heres another stem cell breakthrough recently.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061019/sfth065.html?.v=66

This one has a huge effect on my life as my son is diabetic. This brings us a huge step closer to a cure. Or at least a vastly improved management regime.

Makes me want to slap bush silly. Course its not the first thing to make me feel that way.

[medeak]

4. thanks for this! n/t

[Igel]

7. Oddly, the cord stem-cell research could have

gotten NIH funding in the US without regard to the stem-cell line. But it was done in the UK.

The research done in the US might not have been eligible for government funding; it depends on which stem-cell lines they used.

Then again, I personally know a post-doc working with human embryonic stem cell lines that aren't eligible for US funding in a lab fully funded by non-governmental sources. His colleagues in adjacent labs are working with human embryonic stem cells *with* US funding.

[thereismore]

6. these are umbilical cord blood cells, not embryonic stem cells,.

Just sayin.

[mom cat]

8. Fantastic! Now if we can just keep from blowing up the planet or French frying it,

or having the dominators turn us all into their slaves, we might just have a livable planet.