On May 29, a team of scientists in Shanghai, China announced that they have successfully implanted stem cells into the world’s first goat embryo – a significant advancement in using genetic techniques to treat severe diseases.
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(Photo: Metro) |
The success of this research was published in a scientific journal by the National Academy of Sciences in the United States on May 16.
Professor Huang Shuzheng, who leads the research team at the Institute of Genetics of Jiao Tong University, stated, “Our ultimate goal is to use stem cells to treat genetic diseases.”
Over the past five years, Professor Huang Shuzheng’s research team has successfully implanted stem cells derived from human umbilical cords into the embryos of 50 goats.
When these pregnant goats gave birth, 39 of the offspring exhibited genetic characteristics in their blood and internal organs.
Scientists reported that the results of the research indicate that stem cells, which are undifferentiated cells that can specialize into different cell types, can be harvested from one living organism and implanted into another without the need for exclusion methods.
Currently, the 39 goats are being raised in an experimental farm on the outskirts of Shanghai.
Researchers hope to apply the method of implanting healthy human stem cells to treat genetic diseases such as hemophilia. Simultaneously, scientists also hope that by implanting normal stem cells into embryos, they can “fix” the genetics of a disease.
Previously, Professor Huang Shuzheng’s research team successfully replaced diseased liver cells in mouse embryos.
However, the development of methods using stem cells to treat human diseases still has a long way to go.
This advancement raises not only technical challenges but also ethical issues. Currently, Shanghai is developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for scientists engaged in biological research.
Ngoc Huyen
