The Human Genome (Part 3)

Anyone with children probably knows that when Harry Potter broke his arm playing Quidditch one of his professors botched the spell to fix it and instead removed the entire bone.  In order to grow a new bone, Harry had to drink a bottle of “Skele-Gro” and about 12 painful hours later he was ready to get back on his broom.  Of all the fanciful creations in the magical world of Harry Potter, this one might one day be our reality.  Research into stem cells and their promising regenerative properties may one day bring this idea from science fiction to science fact.

We wrap up our discussion of the 10^th anniversary of the Human Genome Project with a look at stem cells and their potential clinical applications.  Although not directly related to deciphering the genetic alphabet contained in a human cell, the area of stem cell research has benefited from the genomic revolution.  While genomics gets the most attention, the stem cell revolution is an important component of what many have called Biology 2.0.  Moreover, interest in the therapeutic potential of stem cells was greatly stirred about a decade ago when in 1998 researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison derived the first human embryonic stem cell line. 

This ignited strong public interest, but many of the great hopes of stem cells were dashed a few years later when President George W. Bush poured a bucket of cold water on stem cell research by severely limiting federal funding in the area.  In the end, however, this move was a boon to the field because it forced researchers to become more innovative, eventually figuring out how to transform any cell from the body back into a stem cell.  The idea that cells can turn into any other type of cell in the body is very exciting and research is being conducted on the application of stem cells for treating everything from damaged body parts – wound healing and heart, brain or spinal cord damage – to the correction of congenital problems such as blindness, deafness and baldness, to the treatment of diseases such as diabetes and even... Want to read more?  Log in to our subscriber area or subscribe to the Medical Technology Stock Letter.

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