#1. Stem Cell Breakthroughs :
In November, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and molecular biologist James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin reported that they had reprogrammed regular skin cells to behave just like embryonic stem cells. The breakthrough may someday allow scientists to create stem cells without destroying embryos — sidestepping the sticky ethical issues and opposition from the U.S. government that surround embryonic stem-cell research — but that day is still a ways off. Regarding his achievement, Thomson wrote in the Washington Post: “[It] changes both everything and nothing at all.” His and Yamanaka’s work is still in its early stages, and it’s unclear whether reprogrammed skin cells will turn out to be as useful as embryonic stem cells; for now, stem-cell experts agree that embryonic research must continue. Indeed, just a week before the researchers’ papers were published in Cell and Science, scientists in Portland reported that they had for the first time cloned embryonic stem cells from monkeys — another step closer to human stem-cell cloning. None of the research has yet translated to usable therapies, but for the millions of patients for whom this work holds promise, science just took a big turn for the better. ………………………………………..
#2. Human Mapped In September physiologist and scientific maverick J. Craig Venter bared his genetic soul for the world to see. Along with researchers at his Maryland-based J. Craig Venter Institute and other institutions, Venter published his entire “diploid” genetic sequence, or all the DNA in both sets of chromosomes inherited from each of his parents — the first such genome ever published of a single person. Venter’s feat brought science one step closer to the era of personalized medicine — and to being able to trace the roots of our genetic variations. It may not help to know which parent to blame for our bald pates or bifocals, but when it comes to more serious health risks, like heart disease and breast cancer, the stakes are higher.
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#3. Building a Human Heart Valve
The World Heath Organization estimates that some 600,000 people around the world will need replacement heart valves within the next three years. British scientists delivered those patients some hopeful news: A team of researchers led by Dr. Magdi Yacoub of the Imperial College of London saw 10 years of work come to fruition this spring, when they grew bone marrow stem cells into functioning human heart-valve tissue. Yacoub hopes that the tissue can be grown into the shape of a heart valve using a special collagen scaffolding. Yacoub’s advancements build on the ongoing efforts of scientists around the world to grow new heart valves and other body parts. If Yacoub’s tissue holds up in animal trials, he estimates it could be used in human heart-valve transplant patients within 3 to 5 years.
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Year Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
Source:Time magazine
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