Embryonic Stem Cells Remain In Skin?
This research, as reported by EurekAlert, sounds like it will be a major advance for the field of regenerative medicine if it pans out. "Stem cells found in adult skin retain their embryonic capability of making many types of cells. ... We think these stem cells are actually embryonic cells that go out into the skin during development and then stay in reservoirs in hair follicles." Remember that a number of equally promising developments in stem cell science over the past few years have turned out to be false alarms. It is worth following any research that promises readily available multipotent stem cells in adults, however - that is the key to efficient, low cost tissue engineering.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/uot-skr102904.php
I think stem cell research will be obselete in maybe 2 decades with all of the advances in biotechnology.
The futurologists have pointed to the possibility of actually reversing the process of ageing....Many are pretty confident they are close to understanding the causes of ageing..ie RNA/DNA degredation, when producing new copies of cells ect...
It would be great if this came to the fore over the next few decades, no more long ethics debates about using stem cells...