Madeline SchwartzWisdom Teeth as an alternative...
August 24th 2008 13:16
Japanese scientists claim that they have created stem cells using the tissue form a 10-year-old girl’s wisdom teeth. The researchers say their work could lead to an alternative for therapeutic stem cells.
Stem cell therapies are often controversial because they use the cells from human embryos. Researchers have been looking for alternative ways of creating those cells in order to be able to treat many life-threatening diseases.
The researchers at believe it will take at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) least five years to be able to use their research in a practical medical setting.
The AIST researchers found a form of stem cell in wisdom teeth that could be grown into other types of cells outside the body. The harvested cells were able to go in the lab for just a little over a month.
In a BBC report the team’s leader explains the excitement of this research:
“One is that we can avoid the ethical issues of stem cells because wisdom teeth are destined to be thrown away anyway,” he told the AFP news agency.
“Also, we used teeth that had been extracted three years ago and had been preserved in a freezer. That means that it’s easy for us to stock this source of stem cells.”
United States dentists are beginning to store the stem cells from wisdom teeth and baby teeth in hope that they will be able to be used in the future.
Stem cell therapies are often controversial because they use the cells from human embryos. Researchers have been looking for alternative ways of creating those cells in order to be able to treat many life-threatening diseases.
The researchers at believe it will take at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) least five years to be able to use their research in a practical medical setting.
The AIST researchers found a form of stem cell in wisdom teeth that could be grown into other types of cells outside the body. The harvested cells were able to go in the lab for just a little over a month.
In a BBC report the team’s leader explains the excitement of this research:
“One is that we can avoid the ethical issues of stem cells because wisdom teeth are destined to be thrown away anyway,” he told the AFP news agency.
“Also, we used teeth that had been extracted three years ago and had been preserved in a freezer. That means that it’s easy for us to stock this source of stem cells.”
United States dentists are beginning to store the stem cells from wisdom teeth and baby teeth in hope that they will be able to be used in the future.
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