May 30, 2003 Update
Scientists in Japan and Scotland have located what they think is the master gene for all stem cells Go to article. They are calling it Nanog, a term borrowed from Celtic mythology. They don't know how it works or even how to turn it on but without it stem cells do not appear to be possible.
The Washington Post article says that, "In nanog’s case, the resulting pattern of gene activity is typically seen in human cells only around the fourth or fifth day of embryo development — when, from a cell’s point of view, everything is possible but nothing has been decided." I think that everything is decided and the only reason it appears otherwise is because of the ability of these early embryonic cells to reprogram themselves according to who their neighbors are.
How can the Nanog gene be used in cancer therapy? In an adult with cancer, we turn on the Nanog gene in one cell, culture the cell, and implant the resulting embryo or its protein products into the patient; thereby providing the recognition factors that the cancer cells are trying to find (possibly R factors from a different cell line).
Scientists in Japan and Scotland have located what they think is the master gene for all stem cells Go to article. They are calling it Nanog, a term borrowed from Celtic mythology. They don't know how it works or even how to turn it on but without it stem cells do not appear to be possible.
The Washington Post article says that, "In nanog’s case, the resulting pattern of gene activity is typically seen in human cells only around the fourth or fifth day of embryo development — when, from a cell’s point of view, everything is possible but nothing has been decided." I think that everything is decided and the only reason it appears otherwise is because of the ability of these early embryonic cells to reprogram themselves according to who their neighbors are.
How can the Nanog gene be used in cancer therapy? In an adult with cancer, we turn on the Nanog gene in one cell, culture the cell, and implant the resulting embryo or its protein products into the patient; thereby providing the recognition factors that the cancer cells are trying to find (possibly R factors from a different cell line).
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