Monday 29 October 2012

Embryos are like My Daughters

The latest breakthrough in the field of medicine and science is the prestigious Nobel Prize in medicine grabbed by Sir John Gurdon and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka. Shinya Yamanaka, a Japanese physician and researcher of adult stem cells, is a stem cell pioneer and his work singles out every other scientific wave. In 2007, he discovered a way to induce ordinary(somatic) body cells into pluripotent embryo-like stem cells dubbed "induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs)".

According to Shinya Yamanaka's article in Nature(June 7,2007) his discovery is completely guided by moral concerns excluding any lethal experiment on embryos. In the words of Shinya Yamanaka- "When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughter." Neither he used eggs nor embryos for research purpose, rather he used mice.

human embryos in danger
Recent news regarding research has always hyped human embryonic stem cell research(hESCR) owing to which the American President Barack Obama had even banned the use of human embryos to develop regenerative power and cure.

Shinya Yamanaka, the budding scientist, has proved loyal to Hippocrates saying:- "As to diseases, make a habit of two things-to help, or at least to do no harm". He makes the medical community of scientists understand that stem cell research is not only about therapies and quick cures, it's understanding the basic nature of human cells and that's what he truly owes his success to.

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