大象传媒

In this week's programme, Peter Evans investigates the current state of stem cell research. Promoted as a way of treating a wide variety of degenerative conditions, stem cell therapy works by renewing damaged or destroyed tissue.

Theoretically, stem cells can be persuaded to develop into different types of human tissue. Through their use, researchers hope to find new ways of treating some devastating conditions which include Alzheimer's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, heart conditions and osteoarthritis.

If scientists can culture stem cells derived from the patient's own cells, there's much less chance of those cells being rejected when they are transplanted back into the patient's body.

Peter reports from Bristol, where a medical team led by Professor Anthony Hollander are using stem cells to grow cartilage to treat patients suffering from osteoarthritis. Stem cells are taken from the patient's bone marrow and are given chemical signals that persuade them to become cartilage cells. The cells are then attached to a biodegradable scaffold and implanted back into the damaged joint.

Peter also meets Austin Smith, Head of the new Institute for Stem Cell Biology in Cambridge. Austen is on the pure research side. He hopes that in the future, labs will be able to use stem cells to grow limitless numbers of human cells that can be used for drug assays.

Stephen Minger is Head of the Stem Cell Biology Lab at King's College London. Stephen's focus is much more on developing therapies for a range of debilitating conditions where human tissue has been damaged. These include spinal cord injuries, damage to heart muscles following heart attacks and degenerative retinal conditions.

Peter also hears about a novel approach to stem cell research. A Chinese researcher, Huizen Sheng, in Shanghai, has managed to insert a human-derived nucleus into a rabbit egg. Huizen hopes that by using rabbit eggs in this way, scientists will be able to understand more about the process of stem cell development, and those insights can then be applied to the culturing of human stem cells.