I just came across this piece in Nature, by Bruce Goldman. It levels the playing field with the 10 year head start embryonic stem cell research had over iPS cell research. Goldman does a good job of outlining 3 applications of iPS cells. First, they are ready and able to be used right now to better understand and compare cell differentiation with normal and diseased cells.

Second, iPS cells win hands down for patient specific matched cells because they use your own cells and reprogram them to match – you!

Finally, and not yet ready for prime time, is the coveted regenerative medicine capacity that iPS cells may have for the future.

Not a bad breakthrough.

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC President
Jennifer Lahl, CBC President
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.