Tuesday, October 9, 2012

SCIENCE: Pioneers in adult stem-cell research win Nobel Prize

Pioneers in adult stem-cell research win Nobel Prize

CWN - October 09, 2012

The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, two scientists whose work has centered around adult stem-cell research, which does not involve the destruction of human embryos.

"This technique offers hope of progress in stem-cell research without relying on the unethical destruction of human embryos," said David Jones, director of the Anscombe center in Oxford. "The past attempts to clone human embryos and the bizarre experiments to create admixed human-nonhuman embryos have delivered nothing."

"This is an important milestone in recognizing the key role that non-embryonic stem cells play in the development of new, medical therapies, as alternatives to human embryonic stem cells," the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) said in a statement.