UPFRONT
www.sciencespin.com
Avoiding the issue
Tom Kennedy reports on concerns that lack of legislation is holding up stem cell research in Ireland.
R
ecently it was announced that researchers led by a Canadian scientist had succeeded in isolating a human blood stem cell. This is a cell that has the capacity to regenerate all the cells of the entire blood system, and the success in isolating it is regarded as a breakthrough by scientists working in this field. The researchers, were led by John Dick, Senior Scientist at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and the Ontario Cancer Institute. In paper published in the journal Science, Dr Dick describes the discovery, coming 23 years after his research began, as a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Dr Dick already has an impressive record in stem cell research, and among his achievements was the replication of the entire human leukemia disease process in laboratory mice, and his work with Drs James Till and Ernest McCulloch led to the use of stem cells in bone marrow transplantation for leukemia patients. This has become the most successful clinical application of stem cell therapy to date and thousands of patients around the world have benefited from this lifesaving research. The ultimate aim of stem cells scientists, such as Dr Dick, is to develop a pure stem cell line that could be controlled and cultured to provide a sufficient supply for transplantation. As Dr Dick has explained, it’s not just a matter of quality, but of quantity. For many treatments, he said, samples from a single donor are not sufficient to produce enough cells for effective treatment. The latest discovery, he added, brings researchers closer to the promise offered by regenerative medicine.
Dr Dick’s team have been using high-technology flow cytometry to sort, shift, and purify blood cells into meaningful batches that help them map the molecular switches that initiate specialisation into different cell types. Commenting on this news, Stephen Sullivan, an Irish stem researcher working in the US, said that the discovery has great significance as it means that scientists can now get a much clearer view of gene expression, and as he said, “we can learn what makes these cells tick.” As Stephen explains, stem cell research is not just all about topping up with replacement cells. To understand many diseases, he said, you need to be able to isolate the cells that originally give rise to the problems. His own research is focused on stem cells that make the placenta, known as trophoblasts. “If you can isolate and culture that,” he said, we can find out a lot more about serious conditions such as preeclampsia, accreta, fetal growth restriction and miscarriages.” While some of these terms might seem strange and unfamiliar, the conditions they refer to are very serious, and one way that stem cell research can help is in screening of potential drugs. “The more human stem cells we can isolate the better,” said Stephen, “so that we can learn the differences and similarities, and learn how to control them.” Initially that’s going to happen in the test tube, he said, but the day will come when this knowledge will be applied to patients. In effect, by harnessing a patient’s stem cells, the patient will be helping themselves. Ultimately,” he said, “this is the ‘Holy Grail’ of stem cell research.” Stephen has been very active in promoting stem cell research, and one of the reasons he left Ireland, he said, is that it is so difficult to make progress in the absence of clear guidelines. As most of us know, there are serious ethical and other issues to be addressed, and in Stephen’s view, there is a legislative vacuum in Ireland. The shut down of the Bioethics Council last year, he maintains, is a fairly clear indication that these issues are not being taken seriously enough. Given a clear framework, he said, Ireland could be doing a lot more in this fast developing field, and without guidelines, we will simply be left trailing behind the rest of the world.
Minerals
SwITCHInG over to solar power and going all electric in transport means that we will have to find and mine more rare metals. At a meeting of the US Geological Society last november, James Burnell from the Colorado Geological Survey said that we can expect the competition for mineral resources to hot up. Metals such as gallium, indium, selenium, tellurium and high purity silicon are needed to make photovoltaic panels. To make batteries, zinc, vanadium, lithium and other rare earth elements are needed. Platinum minerals are needed for fuel-cell cars, and as Burnell remarked, the market is becoming very competitive. China, he said is gearing up to build 330 giga-watt of wind power so will require about 59,000 tons of neodymium to make high-powered magnets for the generators. At present, China is a major supplier of neodynium, but this demand will mean a complete shutdown on exports of this rare element. “Trade wars are on the horizon,” remarked Burnell, and policy makers need to act now to avoid a crisis. “we need to find those ores and start exploiting them,” he said, “and that means more mining — it’s the only way we can stay competitive.”
Micro-meteorites
DUrInG the earlier period of the Earth’s history, four billion years ago, sulphur dioxide is thought to have acted as a cooling blanket. Following a study of this period, Prof Mark Sephton from the Dept of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, concluded that the Earth, like Mars, was subjected to a bombardment of micro-meteorites. As these meteorites, most of which were no larger [? ?Y?\??Z[??[?\?Y H \ \?][??\?K ^HX]Y \ ?X??] K 0????]\?[?? [H ? ?[X\?H ?[ \?[?YH[??\??\?\? ???\ ??[?[]Y ]ZX??[Y][?]\???Z[?????H H\?\??Y?[ ?] ?Y[?X\??[??\]\? ??[]?H[]?\?YX??] ?Z[[? ??\?? ?[ \?[?YH]?\?H YX\? \?[?? \? \?[? ?\?H ?\?[ HX\? ??[]?H?Y[??[Y?HX??] L0???[?] H [YK H?[??&\?[?\??H ?\? ? \??[?\?? [?]\? ?^K?\? ??[]?HYX[? ] HX\? ? ??YY[?[?X?YX??[??] ??[]?H?Y[???\][ H???[??\??????QS??H?S?\??YH
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