// Comments from the Fellows

Father Thomas Berg, LC, M.A., Ph.D.

A New Day

I've already been using this expression several times in the past 48 hours, even at the risk of it sounding so cliché-ish. But I consider it neither a cliché nor an exaggeration to say that a new has indeed dawned in the world of stem cell research, and consequently, in every civilized culture where stem cell research thrives.

Two major scientific papers published today in Science and Cell show that it is possible to generate patient-matched pluripotent stem cells without human cloning, without the use of human embryos and without using human eggs. Both studies used direct reprogramming of adult human cells to generate cells that have all the properties of human embryonic stem cells.

Unlike the case of embryonic stem cells, however, where the embryo must be destroyed to obtain the pluripotent cells it contains, the cells produced by these researchers were made directly from adult body cells by applying a small number of factors to them in the laboratory. The added factors remodel the mature cells and convert them directly into stem cells that are functionally identical to embryonic stem cells-but without involving embryos in the process.

We have been following the development of reprogramming for a couple of years now, a topic I've written on a number of times (for instance here and here ).

It works like this:

What does this all mean?

This approach can be used to generate stem cell lines from patients with specific genetic diseases to better study these conditions, and to provide patient-specific stem cells for possible stem cell therapies-all without destroying embryonic human life, all without any of the moral landmines of so-called "therapeutic cloning." If offers the same product as therapeutic cloning, but without involving embryos. There are no ethical issues whatsoever with this approach. This means the supposed need for human cloning is a moot point.

And that, I'm sure you will agree, is a victory for humanity. Today is a new day!

Direct reprogramming of human cells is one of the most significant scientific findings of the last quarter century; far more significant than cloning Dolly the sheep. Indeed, the scientist who originally cloned Dolly, Professor Ian Wilmut, recently stated that direct reprogramming is "extremely exciting and astonishing", a scientific approach he finds "100 times more interesting" than cloning-so much more interesting that Professor Wilmut has announced he will abandon cloning research and pursue direct reprogramming instead.

It will take several days for us to ponder and assess the implications of all this, but even now, and based on what I am hearing from scientists and fellow ethicists who have followed the emergence of stem cell science in recent years, some implications are already clear, and they are marvelous.

First of all, the putative "need" for new lines of human embryonic stem cells will now fall under much tougher scientific scrutiny as enthusiasm for reprogramming re-dimensions the field. Dr. Wilmut himself was quoted as saying, "This approach represents the future for stem cell research." Quite a statement from a stem cell pioneer.

Secondly, controversial therapeutic cloning now loses any plausible grounds for being a scientific and biomedical "must". I don't believe today's news is going to stop researchers from attempting to clone human embryos to harvest embryonic stem cells from them. But their public support will be drastically reduced, and any private monies they had for this will likely dry up as well. As for the cloning of animals, particularly primates, as I suggested in a column in NRO last week, there is immense good that can come from studying the progression of human diseases in animal models. So last weeks cloning news continues to have a silver lining, while the human therapeutic cloning it portended is poised to become a footnote in the history of science.

Most importantly, however, for advocates and opponents alike of embryonic stem cell research, and most importantly for those millions of potential beneficiaries of stem cell related therapies, today marks an enormous victory for all of us.

Fr. Thomas, a priest of the Legionaries of Christ, founded the Institute in 1998. He received an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in 1997, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Rome's Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum in 1999. His areas of specialization include natural law theory, personhood theory, and biomedical issues dealing with the beginning of life.