Hello Dolly
Coming in at number one on our countdown of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2011 is a step up from the genetic science that made Dolly a star. Scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation successfully created stem cells this past October. A variation of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which is what helped create Dolly from an ewe, helped to create the closest thing science has reached in their attempt to clone a human being.
SCNT comprises of replacing the genetic material from an egg cell with the DNA from a mature cell (i.e. a blood cell) and then by stimulating the egg to divide (and if it fully develops) has the potential to produce a genetically identical clone of the animal from which the initial mature cell was extracted from.
SCNT failed--but the egg`s DNA did exhibit cell division to permit the generation of stem cells. Although the cells aren`t quite `normal` (they contained an extra set of chromosomes`) researchers are still hopeful that they will discover a way to `silence` or eliminate the extra sequence of DNA. The possibility of a process that may yield stem cells brings hope to many. These tiny particles, most of which are no larger than 0.250 to 0.125 millimeters, may one day be our answer to diseases like Parkinson`s, diabetes, cancers, spinal cord injuries and so much more.
An embryotic stem cell