A (new) history of stem cell research

A short time ago, Ed Yong blogged about a timeline he created on reprogrammed stem cells, which we’ve mentioned before in our own blog. It presented a good overview of the major papers that have defined the progress in this specific area and we found it interesting not just because of the method of delivery (a Dipity interface) or the fact that it put stem cells into the spotlight but because it just so happened that we had been working on an updated history of stem cell research.

Those of you who have perused our site will have noticed that we have our own stem cell timeline. The first version of this timeline had been there for at least five years, but in early 2010 it came under some criticism, and rightly so. It was both sparse and biased toward Canadian discoveries (in our defense, the timeline had originally been created to highlight Canadian achievements). But the criticism made us take a second look at it and we learned that it was being referred to and used by a great number of students, not all of whom were in Canada. As a science entity, we needed to do better and so began a much more conscientious effort to really highlight the key discoveries that have defined the field.

Our recently completed timeline features more than 40 major findings, from 1860 to the present day, and highlights the work of researchers from around the world. It’s been reviewed by scientists in the field to be the most comprehensive resource of its type that we know of.

 Let us know what you think! 

Stem cells and the modern Prometheus

by Ben Paylor

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?
- Paradise Lost, Milton

This harrowing quote from Milton, if framed as a first-person narrative of a stem cell’s fate, paints a troubling (and highly unrecognized) perspective of the field. These same lines also open Frankenstein, a novel from 1818 written by the young Mary Shelley, that has gone on to become one the most studied pieces of romantic literature of all time. Many people might be unaware that the full title of the novel — Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus — immediately sets the tone for the course of Victor Frankenstein’s tragedy by including reference to Prometheus, 
the Greek god of forethought who created mankind and was later cursed for stealing from Zeus. Mary Shelley is not the only author who has thought it fitting to connect their story with this classic tale of ambition over reason. The term “Modern Prometheus” was first coined by Immanuel Kant, describing his view of Benjamin Franklin as a man who had no fear of venturing into a realm of forbidden knowledge.  The connection lies in the story of this titan who stole fire from Zeus and gifted it to mankind. When Zeus discovered the treachery, he punished Prometheus by chaining him to a mountain in the Caucasus, a place fittingly between the home of the gods and the home of men. In addition to his banishment to thetop of the mountain, each day Zeus’ eagle would arrive to eat Prometheus’ “immortal” liver, with the liver regenerating in time for the eagle’s return the following day.

Some have suggested that inherent in this tale — which has provided material to countless introductions for regenerative medicine papers, presentations and even clinical trials, a potentially ill-fitting historical reference — is the concept that the liver possesses a remarkable capacity for regeneration. This reference presupposes the thought that Greek mythmakers knew of the liver’s regenerative properties, and chose this organ as the site for repeated injury without long-term consequence. If this were true, then it is remarkable that the concept does not reappear in medical history until the early 19^th century, with anatomists such as Jean Cruveilhier and Gabriel Adral first describing the livers regenerative properties in detail.  This knowledge has been thought to be derived from two sources; hepatoscopy, the art of reading livers as the word of the gods and the study of human anatomy, with Greek healers having witnessed evidence of the regeneration themselves.