How Are Stem Cells Like Wine Grapes?
Stem cells, like wine grapes, need tender nuturing to reach their potential.Silicon Valley started in a small garage across the way from Stanford University by one man named Hewlett and another named Packard. There’s an historic plaque on that garage now, and a worldwide industry surrounds it. Stem cell research has just as much potential. Last week, I mentioned that I was a believer, that I have seen things happen in stem cell research that others haven’t. Collaborating with Renee Reijo Pera, PhD at Stanford, we have been developing adult stem cells that would not involve embryos, or viruses, and that would not be rejected from the body. It all started when we put our heads together and thought hard about how sperm are made and how stem cells are grown. From this line of thinking, we concluded that the adult human testicle would be a great place to create a stem cell. Why? Because the first thing a developing embryo does as it begins to grow is to set aside cells and designate them as
