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08/16 03:03 Embryo Use in Stem Cell Research May Be Avoided (Update1) By Morag MacKinnon Melbourne, Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The use of human embryos for stem cell research may not be necessary after researchers isolated stem cells in the brains of adult mice and grew muscle tissue, Australian scientists said. The discovery that adult, as well as embryonic, stem cells can develop into different tissue is good news for medical researchers seeking to generate nerve cell replacement in humans, scientists said. It offers hope that a cure can be found for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. ``Its advantages over the use of transplanted embryonic stem cells are that it is non-invasive, builds on the body's natural mechanisms and avoids the possibility of rejection,'' Perry Bartlett, one of the scientists from the Melbourne-based Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research told Bloomberg. Stem cells are ``blank'' cells prized in medical research for their ability to be coaxed into different kinds of cells. Most research to date has concentrated on extracting stem cells from human embryos and is controversial because it requires the destruction of an embryo. U.S. President George W. Bush, who opposed embryonic stem cell research during last year's presidential campaign, last week approved research on cell lines derived from already destroyed embryos. Federal funding won't be provided, though, for research on cell lines extracted from future embryos, he said. Adult Cells The discovery by the scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and from the Howard Florey Institute, also in Melbourne, is published in today's edition of the scientific journal, Nature. The existence of stem cells in the brain was known in 1992, though scientists didn't know how to purify and extract them. The Australian team spent four years developing a method to identify and extract a pure stem cell, and applied the method to extract such a cell from the brain of a mouse, Bartlett said. When that cell was mixed with muscle cells, it assumed the properties of the muscle tissue within three days, Bartlett said. The team has begun work on harvesting stem cells from humans, he said. In world terms, this is a ``very important breakthrough,'' Rodney Rietze a member of the scientific team said. ``It's very exciting. The stem cell really has given us a lot of hope in that regeneration of the central nervous system is an attainable goal.'' Patent Pending So far, no biotechnology companies are involved in the team's research, which is funded by the Australian government and various charities, including the Australasian Spinal Research Trust. The scientists have a patent pending on the stem cell purification procedure. The team's research into adult stem cells focuses on activating stem cells in the brain from within, whereas embryonic research looks at transplanting stem cells back into the central nervous system and in other tissues. ``We're moving in different directions but both going for the same goal,'' Rietze said. SOURCE: Bloomberg.com Top World News http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20World%20News * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn