Scientists have found a new way of creating stem cells, which are cells that have the ability to turn into any type of tissue, using mouse cells. If the method works for human cells, it could ultimately be used to create tissue for people who need organ transplants, and to study diseases such as cancer.

The new method involves exposing cells taken from a mouse spleen to an acidic environment. After doing this, the scientists found they had created cells that were "pluripotent" capable of turning into most types of cells in the body, including those found in the lungs, muscle, bone, blood, skin or nervous system. The researchers called the stem cells they made "STAP cells" (an abbreviation for stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency).

If the findings are replicated, "this result has the potential to be very significant," said Linzhao Cheng, a professor of medicine and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. [Video: STAP cells develop into an embryo]

Researchers in Japan first demonstrated the ability to makestem cellsfrom adult cells in 2006. This method uses viruses to insert new genes into adult cells, and produces cells calledinduced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs).

But the new method of using acid doesn't require manipulating the cells' DNA, and may even be faster, researchers said.

The study not only shows that STAP cells offer an alternative way to generate stem cells for regenerative medicine, but also that they could help scientists learn about how tumors develop in cancer, Cheng told LiveScience.

Reprogramming cells

Normally, once cells in the body have become specialized for example, by becoming spleen cells they can no longer change course and develop into other types of cells. One goal of stem cell research is to find ways to reset adult cells, so that they can change course and grow into whatever tissue a person might need. That could mean a replacement of heart tissue damaged by a heart attack, or a new lung kidney to replace one ravaged by cancer.

Common wisdom holds that in order to make cells revert to their unspecialized state, researchers must either transfer the cell nucleus, or add a complex cocktail of substances that control how DNA gets made into proteins.

"I asked, can it be done without manipulating the nucleus?" Haruko Obokata of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan, leader of the research described online today (Jan. 29) in two papersin the journal Nature, told reporters.

Studies of plants have shown that a stressful environment can reprogram cells into an immature state. And, from this state, the cells can develop into an entirely new plant. But no one had reprogrammed animal cells in that way. [Inside Life Science: Once Upon a Stem Cell]

Obokata and her colleagues developed a new method to reprogram adult mouse cells. They took spleen cells from 1-week-old mice and bathed the cells in acidic fluid, at human body temperature, for 25 minutes.

They found that after the acid treatment, the cells indeed reverted to a pluripotent state like that seen in embryonic stem cells.The researchers used the same method to convert cells from brain, skin, muscle, fat, bone marrow, lung and liver tissues into stem cells, successfully.

The scientists tested the cells' potential by injecting them into mouse embryos that were already growing, but still at a very early stage of development. The researchers found these embryos developed into healthy mice that were "chimaeras," meaning they contained genetic material from both the STAP cells and the original cells of the embryo.

In a second study, the researchers found the STAP cells could develop into not only into the cells of the mouse embryo, but also into the cells of its placenta a strong demonstration of the cells' potential to develop into different cell types.

In addition, the scientists showed that STAP cells could be converted into self-renewing stem cells similar to embryonic stem cells.

Way of the future?

Compared with the time it takes to perform the current method, of creating iPSCs, the new method is much quicker, Obokata said.

In addition to the acidic treatment, the researchers tested whether other stresses such as squeezing the cells, heating them or depriving them of nutrients could also coax mature cells into becoming pluripotent. Initial findings suggest that some of these other stresses could have the same effect as the acidic treatment, the researchers said.

Paul Frenette, a stem cell biologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York who had no role in the study, called the new method "very exciting."

Many scientists have been spending a lot of effort on finding ways to reprogram cells, so achieving this by simply changing the acidity of the environment is remarkable, Frenette told LiveScience.

Other labs will try to replicate the findings in mice, and ultimately in human cells. The new method is"very easy to do, so we will see how quickly it's reproduced," Frenette said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:53 p.m. ET Jan. 29, to specify that cells from brain, muscle and other tissues were also converted to STAP cells.

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterand Google+.Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article onLiveScience.

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Sure, the main purpose of sex isprocreation, but according to one researcher, in as little as 30 years, we may have more efficient and cheaper ways of making babiesthangood ole fashioned intercourse. According to Hank Greely, the director of StanfordLaw Schools Center for Law and Biosciences, human reproductionmay become automated faster than you realize.

Greely believes that within three decades, people will no longer have sex as a way to reproduce, and instead relyongenetically edited embryos grown from skin-derived stem cells, not the combination of an egg or sperm, The Independent reported. According to Greely, this processensures that the embryo is free from any devastating genetic diseases, and wouldalso be cheaper in the long run because of the money it would save in healthcare over the years. Whats more, Greely predicts that couples would be able to choose other genetic traits in their children, such as physical features and intelligence.

Read: What Is A Three Parent IVF Technique? Worlds First Baby Born Using DNA From Three Parents, But How?

I dont think were going to be able to say this embryo will get a 1550 on its two-part SAT, Greely said this week at Aspen Ideas Festival, Quartz reported, But, this embryo has a 60% chance of being in the top half, this embryo has a 13% chance of being in the top 10%I think thats really possible.

The idea may soundfar-out, but according to Quartz, it already happens on a much smaller and limited scale as a way to prevent certain diseases. Although extremely expensive at the moment, advances in stem cell technology willhelp to drive down the cost. In addition, the amount that the government would save on not having to take care of sick babies would also make this more cost-efficient.

Making babies from skin cellsrather than a traditional egg fertilized with spermmaysound like its straight out of Hollywood, butthetechnology is quickly advancing. The skin cells, one from the mother and the other from the father, are coaxed into becoming an egg or sperm cell, The New York Times reported. This also means that one day same-sex couples may be able to have biologically related children. So far, vitro gametogenesis (IVG), or making sex cells from stem cells, has only worked on mice.

Theres also the worry that being able to genetically manipulate your offspring may lead to a eugenicssituation where less favorable traits get written out of the human genome forever. However, Greely also believes this is not the case.

This is not designer babies or super babies, said Greely, Quartz reported. This is selecting embryos. You take two people, all you can get out of a baby is what those two people have.

Just because well no longer need sex for procreation doesnt mean the activity is going out of fashion anytime soon. It's agreat way to createfuture generations, and sexis also good for your physical and mental health, as well as keeping couples together.

See Also:

Designer Babies: The Truth Behind Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Scientists Edit Human Embryo Genes For First Time Ever: A Step Toward Disease-Free Future?

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Sex For Reproduction May Be Obsolete Within 30 Years Thanks To New Technology, Professor Predicts - Medical Daily

Resurrecting the dead may be out of the question, but new research points to better ways to care for patients with critical brain injuries.Jun.29.2017 / 4:32 PM ET Conceptual close up image of a synapse. Science Picture Co / Getty Images Conceptual close up image of a synapse. Science Picture Co / Getty Images

Nothing is as certain as death. Yet humans have come up with ways to push it further and further. The heart stops beating? Do CPR. The lungs fail? Use a mechanical ventilator. These techniques have saved the lives of millions. There is a point of no return, however: when the brain dies.

One company, Philadelphia-based Bioquark Inc., thinks it may be possible to push back on even that last step. Bioquark plans to launch a study to use stem cells and a slew of other therapies to bring a glimmer of life back to the dead brains of newly deceased patients.

The idea led to hundreds of chilling headlines and has met serious backlash from scientists and ethicists alike. While Bioquarks proposed study may trigger ethical and practical concerns, experts do say advances in stem cell research and medical technologies mean someday brain injury could be reversible. Maybe (and thats a big maybe) brain death wont be the end of life.

I agree stem cell technology in the neurosciences has tremendous potential, but we have to study it in a way that makes sense, said Dr. Diana Greene-Chandos, assistant professor of neurosurgery and neurology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. What doesnt make sense, she says, is to apply stem cell research in complex human brainsvery damaged onesbefore animal studies have gotten far enough.

Thats why Bioquarks proposed study, slated to take place in South America sometime this year, has caused such uproar in the science community. The team plans to administer therapies to 20 brain-dead subjects with the hope of stirring up electrical activity in the brain. The idea is to deliver stem cells to the brain and coax them to grow into new brain cells, or neurons, with the help of a nurturing peptide cocktail, electrical nerve stimulation, and laser therapy.

Related: Godlike 'Homo Deus' Could Replace Humans as Tech Evolves

We are employing this [combined] approach, using tools that by themselves have been employed extensively, but never in such an integrated process, said Bioquark CEO Ira Pastor.

One critique is that such a study could give false hope to families who may have a poor understanding of the severity and irreversibility of brain death, and confuse it with coma or vegetative state. There are a lot of gray areas in medicine. And we should all keep an open mind. But we need to make sure we are not misguiding our patients, said Dr. Neha Dangayach, attending physician in the neurosurgical intensive care Unit at New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital.

Pastors response to the criticism? The public is catching up to the idea of brain death. Hes also clarified that full resurrection is not the companys intended goalat least not yet. We are not claiming the ability to erase death. We are working on a very small window, a gray zone between reversible coma and death, he said.

Ethics aside, critics say there are practical problems with the plan. There is insufficient evidence behind Bioquarks approach, they argue, and the way the study is planned does not sound realistic.

When the brain dies, inflammation and swelling run amok, the connections between neurons disintegrate, arteries collapse, and blood flow shuts down. Once someone is brain-dead, you can keep them on the ventilator but its very hard to keep the organs from shutting down and the heart beating for more than a few days, said neurologist Richard Senelick. Nature is going to run its course.

So, many scientists say Bioquarks study may be a quixotic queston par with cryogenic brain preservation and head transplants. They may sound good in theory but are so impractical that they have little chance of success. Nevertheless, experts agree the quest does raise serious questions that deserve answers. Just what would it take to save a brain? Perhaps resurrecting dead brains is not in the realm of possibilitybut what is?

There is an immense reward in pursuing brain regeneration. If it pans out, it could potentially save the lives of those who are injured in an accident or, more commonly, suffer extreme brain damage following a cardiac arrest or stroke. Every year in the United States, about 350,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. Only about 10 percent survive with good neurologic function. Another 130,000 people die of stroke annually.

To appreciate the challenge of saving the brain, first look at what it takes to kill it. It was long thought that death occurs when the heart stops. Now we know that death actually happens in the brainand not in one single moment, but several steps. A patient lying in a coma in an intensive care unit may appear peaceful, but findings from biochemical studies paint a much different scene in his brain: fireworks at the cellular level.

When neurons encounter a traumatic event, like lack of blood flow after cardiac arrest, they go into a frenzy. Some cells die during the initial blackout. Others struggle to survive in the complex cascade of secondary injury mechanisms, triggered by the stress of being deprived of oxygen. Neurotransmitters spill out of neurons in high concentrations. Free radicals pile up, burning holes in brain cell membranes. The pierced cells respond to the attack by producing more inflammation, damaging other cells.

Eventually, the stress response triggers apoptosis, or the process of programmed cell death. In other words, the cells suicide switch gets turned on. The cells die one by one until the brain ceases to function.

Thats brain death: the complete and irreversible loss of function of the brain. Doctors determine brain death by checking whether the patient's pupils react to light, whether he responds to pain, and if his body tries to breathe or has retained any other vital function of the brainstem, the part most resilient to injury.

We have strict tests, because its a very serious questionthe question of distinguishing life from death, Dangayach said.

For brain damage at a much smaller scale, however, the situation could be manageable. Cutting-edge therapies are focused on this possibility.

Related: Three Myths About the Brain (That Deserve To Die)

Stem cells have brought an exciting potential opportunity to the grim area of treating brain injury. Currently, theres no FDA-approved stem cell-based therapy for brain problems, and experts suggest staying away from any clinic that offers such therapies. But that doesnt stop researchers from being excited about the possibilities. Unlike in other parts of the body, cells lost in the brain are gone forever. Could stem cells replace them?

That's a reasonable thing to ask, neurologist Dr. Ariane Lewis of New York University said. Lewis is a strong critic of Bioquarks approach, saying that the study borders on quackery, but she thinks stem cell research is promising for stroke recovery. We have little evidence right now, and this is not a commonly employed therapy, but its a research question.

Two regions in the adult brain contain stem cells that can give rise to new neurons, suggesting the brain has a built-in capacity to repair itself. Some of these cells can migrate long distances and reach the injury site.

In some injuries, the brain produces biological factors that stimulate stem cells. Researchers are working to identify those factorswith the aim of someday translating the findings into new drugs to boost a patient's own stem cells.

If we can identify factors that stimulate these cells we could directly repair [the brain], said Dr. Steven Kernie, chief of pediatric critical care medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital, who is working on this research.

Other teams have been working on turning different types of brain cells into neurons. A team at Penn State University developed a cocktail of molecules that can convert glial cells, a type of brain cell, into functioning neurons in mice. The cocktail of molecules could be packaged into drug pills, the researchers said, perhaps one day taken by patients to regenerate neurons.

Another option: transplant new neurons into the brain. In a 2016 study, scientists successfully transplanted young neurons into damaged brains of mice. A real-life injury in the human brain is a much messier situation than a clear-cut lesion made in the lab. But eventually, such advances may translate into techniques to repair stroke damage.

Related: These Brain Boosting Devices Could Give Us Intelligence Superpowers

For diseases like Parkinsons, in which a particular population of neurons is lostas opposed to widespread indiscriminate damagethere have been several clinical trials with many more slated. Scientists in Australia are using brain cells of pigs as a substitute for lost neurons. Later this year, a Chinese clinical trial will implant young neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells into brains of Parkinsons patients. And five more groups are planning similar trials over the next two years, Nature reported.

Approaches taken in Parkinsons trials may be the most biologically plausible, Kernie said. If these trials are successful, they may pave the way for more widespread application of stem cells for treating brain diseases. Its not proven yet that it will work, but its something that's on the horizon.

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