Social Scientists Study Impact of Human Adult Stem Cell Research

Researchers say human pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cell research is complementary New research says studying both reprogrammed adult cells and embryonic stem cells can benefit medical science, but banning the study of embryonic stem cell research could harm studies of reprogrammed adult cells. Researchers from the University of Michigan, Stanford University and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. recently investigated whether the increased number of studies with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells–adult cells that have been coaxed into an “embryo-like” state–has changed the overall course of research in the field. The researchers analyzed more than 2,000 scientific papers and found reprogrammed adult cells are not replacing human embryonic stems cells in the laboratory….