Embryonic Stem Cell Research a dead end?

[macgamer]

There have been a few articles recently that seem to suggest that embryonic stem cell research is intrinsically doomed to fail to produce any therapeutic advances.

This article in Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090204/full/457642b.html which reports the failure of human-animal hybrid embyros (that is just those produced from enucleated bovine ova via SCNT) to grow beyond the 16 cell stage.

Then this: http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090227/full/458019a.html also from Nature which announces the successful creation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells without the use of viruses. This is significant because the resulting stem cells do not have an increase propensity to undergo carcinogenesis. Crucial the iPS method does not require any embryonic stems cells to be harvested or created.

This then begs the question what is the future for embryonic stem cell (ESC) research?

There was an interview with Professor Sir Ian Wilmut on the Today Programme this morning on Radio 4, who is now also researching iPS having abandoned ESC research, on this break-through. It can be heard here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7918000/7918316.stm.

[Senethro]

Too early to say and a few dead ends does not mean no use will come of it.

[Haunted]

You are hardly an objective party to be discussing this in a neutral manner.

I have no vested interested in the research one way or another, if it works it works, if it doesn't then at least we know it doesn't. Either way we win.
Every no leads us closer to a yes.