Stem cell research comes of age
Stem cell research holds tremendous promise in overcoming 'incurable' diseases and major physical debilitations. Scientific research on the topic, however, hasn't quite reached the public and clinical arenas, begging for efforts to move this technology forward. The EU-funded project 'European Consortium for Stem Cell Research' (Eurostemcell) aimed to take stem cell technology right to the clinic by documenting cell lines and opening a strong knowledge base with pre-clinical skills. The project studied, assessed and categorised the different characteristics and properties related to various stem cell types, identifying their clinical potential and rendering them more accessible to capable medical practitioners. Overcoming this challenge involved a team of experts in stem cell biology, tissue repair, transgenesis, cell transplant, disease modelling and developmental biology. These experts included academics as well as commercial researchers from all over the continent, enhancing the European dimension of the project. On another important front, Eurostemcell disseminated the latest results and triumphs in stem cell research to the general public. It organised 26 workshops in Scotland for over 300 school students to promote this exciting new field as a viable career choice. The project also produced four short films on the subject and handed out 1,000 DVDs to schools and museums around the globe. The English-language films have been subtitled or narrated in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Swedish, making them accessible to a very large part of Europe. One film, titled A Stem Cell Story, won two awards while three other films valiantly dealt with ethical issues related to stem cell research and cloning. The workshops, films and knowledge base are expected to propel this revolutionary health-promoting technology to much higher ground.