Stemming the tide of ill-health
10 Oct 2012 9:01 PM GMT
The scientists who have won a Nobel Prize this year deserve congratulations. Their field of research – that of stem cells – is one that has not been free of political and religious interference, particularly in the United States. Science should be free of such constraints. Therefore, this prize is as much an answer to the American right as could be given in a civilised way. The first Nobel Prize of the year, that for medicine, has gone to Japanese Scientist Shinya Yamanaka who shares it with John Gurdon of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain. this is a way of saying that the US may be split down the middle about stem cell research and that phony mythology of creationism, but the global scientific community is only too happy to go the way science is ordained to go, ie towards complete and equivocal understanding of the origins of the human species. For that matter, all the species. As the Nobel Committee has rightly said, the discovery of the regenerative properties of cells through scientific intervention has revolutionised the way that cells and organisms develop.
Both the scientists work on the stem cells as regenerative cells rather than as embryonic cells, which has caused the entire ethical debate in the US and elsewhere. Their work on the possibility of scientifically reprogramming ordinary cells into stem cells could potentially revolutionise treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes. It could also help in revolutionising the treatment of other diseases and could be work out in the laboratory. In fact, one of the earliest uses of the discovery of the prize winning scientists is going to be in eye care. The discovery is soon to be used in treating degenerative eye care in Japan and elsewhere and both the scientists have said that they are encouraged by the results.
But, at the same time, both the scientists have warned that there are any number of spurious claims being made about the regenerative properties of stem cell research in countries that include India. The claims are false, they say and could lead to damage.
Stem cell research may not be all that it is made out to be. But it is one of the paths that may lead to a greater understanding of some aspects of human biological functioning which may ultimately lead to revolutionary cures. The Nobel Committee has rightly realised the potential of science for changing human lives. Not all of aspects of science have the power to empower human lives. This year’s prize reflects this view.
Both the scientists work on the stem cells as regenerative cells rather than as embryonic cells, which has caused the entire ethical debate in the US and elsewhere. Their work on the possibility of scientifically reprogramming ordinary cells into stem cells could potentially revolutionise treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes. It could also help in revolutionising the treatment of other diseases and could be work out in the laboratory. In fact, one of the earliest uses of the discovery of the prize winning scientists is going to be in eye care. The discovery is soon to be used in treating degenerative eye care in Japan and elsewhere and both the scientists have said that they are encouraged by the results.
But, at the same time, both the scientists have warned that there are any number of spurious claims being made about the regenerative properties of stem cell research in countries that include India. The claims are false, they say and could lead to damage.
Stem cell research may not be all that it is made out to be. But it is one of the paths that may lead to a greater understanding of some aspects of human biological functioning which may ultimately lead to revolutionary cures. The Nobel Committee has rightly realised the potential of science for changing human lives. Not all of aspects of science have the power to empower human lives. This year’s prize reflects this view.
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