Stem Cells and Oriental Cloning

    Stem cell

    Two genetic news came directly from Japan.
    The first, interesting from the point of view of the future person, is the successful experience of obtaining functioning brain tissue from stem cells. Initially, the purpose of the experiment was to recreate the tissues of the cerebral cortex (which, as Pavlov said: “The highest manager and distributor of the functions of the animal and human body”), but in the end, the researchers managed to obtain cells of various tissues. What is noteworthy, scientists from the land of the rising sun managed to create tissue samples not only from embryonic stem cells (as is usually the case), but also from “adult” cells present in the skin and hair.

    Cloned tissue transplantation has the most promising prospects, as in regenerative therapy, only a few diseases can be cured by cell transplantation, and much more - by transplantation of functioning, “living” tissues: from building up lost limbs to cancer.

    Grown tissues, at the moment, are still too small for their practical application, but, as stated in the press release of the research institute, research aimed at creating adult tissue will continue. In addition to experiments with human stem cells, the Japanese have successfully done the same with the cells of laboratory mice, even creating a network of neurons based on their tissues that responds to stimulation.

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    Not ending with laboratory rats, we continue further: on the basis of a dead cell that had been lying frozen for 16 years (-20 Celsius, the temperature is similar to the frozen soil in which the famous mammoth Dima was found), a mouse was successfully cloned.

    Researchers at the Riken Institute isolated the cell nucleus from the organ of a dead mouse and grafted it onto the ovum of a living mouse, resulting in the birth of a clone capable of reproduction. This is not just news, but News with a capital letter, because such experiments open the way to the restoration of extinct species of animals on the planet, such as mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and ... go to review the Jurassic Park.

    And if, until recently, such experiments did not end in success and seemed more like fiction than reality, scientists have yet to solve another very complex issue: crossbreeding with existing species. Thousands of years ago, at least half of the current diseases, infections, viruses and everything else that could kill a "new-old" creature before birth did not exist.

    To clone a mammoth (which so far seems to be the safest, most probable and feasible creature), researchers need to find a way to inoculate the mammoth cell nucleus with the elephant's egg, and then implant it. Nevertheless, even if a living creature cannot be “born”, the process may produce cloned embryonic stem cells, which will give another impetus to work in this area.

    ByAccording iScience

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