Web Search www.YaHind.Com INDIA MAKES GRADE IN STEM CELL RESEARCH Radhakrishnan Rao After emerging as a major player in the high-profile sectors of space technology and information technology, India is now all set to make it big in the key discipline of stem cell research as it holds a lot of promise in tackling a variety of diseases and disorders afflicting the humanity. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee recently complimented the Mumbai-based Reliance Life Sciences and Bangalore-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) for being among the ten elite research institutions in the world invited by America's National Institute of Health (NIH) to take part in the federally funded research on embryonic stem cells. While the Reliance Life Sciences has isolated stem cells which are in various stages of development, the NCBS was in possession of potential stem cell lines which are yet to be characterised. Essentially, the embryonic stem cells are akin to nature's blank slates capable of developing into any of more than 200 cell types that make up the human body. As such stem cell research offers the potential of replacing the "faulty" and "malfunctioning" tissues and pave the way for curing hitherto incurable diseases. Stem cells, usually retrieved from the core of five to seven days old human embryo, can grow into virtually any kind of tissue in the human body when nurtured properly. At NCBS, a team led by Dr. Mitradas Panicker has frozen the inner cell mass from embryo and is in the process of testing and analysing them. On the other hand, scientists at the Reliance Life Sciences are of the view that over the next four years the embryonic stem cell research could yield clinical applications with treatment for diabetes and burn victims at the top of the list. "We are talking about the ability of the cell based therapies to come up with better and cost-effective ways to treat people or even treat previously untreated conditions", said a spokesman of Reliance Life Sciences. Significantly, Mukesh Ambani, Vice President of Reliance Life Sciences, has revealed that he is committed to spending another 200 million US dollars over the next five years to reap the benefits of stem cell research. Dr. Balkrishna Matapurkar, a surgeon at New Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College, has pioneered a stem cell based technique for the regeneration of tissues and organs. He already holds a patent for this innovative technique. Incidentally, he is of view that embryonic stem cell research is one of the lost sciences of ancient India. The Hyderabad based L.V.Prasad Eye Institute is one of the handful of medical centres in the world which has been putting research in adult stem cells to good use. Here doctors take about one millimetre limbal tissue from the healthy eye of the patient, culture them on an appropriate surface and graft it on the diseased eye. Such limbal stem cell treatment is available in only two other countries-USA and Taiwan. The author is a noted writer on scientific subjects.  Other Articles...  •  CRY: Putting the Right Foot Forward  •  Islam preaches religious tolerance  •  Qur'an emphasises on gender equality  •  Important aspects of prayer  •  Plant pigments are more than just COLORS!  •  In Search of Eggcellence: Farha Sayeed Brings Gift of Art to the Kingdom  •  The Power Of Subconscious Mind  •  Gandhi wanted Jinnah to be India's Prime Minister  •  Islam gains huge new following after 9/11  •  Arms For The Killer  •  Laughter  •  The Great Indian Dream  •  Beyond the edge  •  The Exotic Valley of Flowers!  •  The Upswing Continues  •  Textile Trade: India Gearing up to Meet Challenge  •  The Great Indian Diaspora  •  The Way to Serve a Billion  •  Simputer: Common Man's Computer  •  Indian Handicrafts: Much Sought After  •  Indian Economy Poised to Register Good Growth in 2003-04  •  Indian Agriculture & the WTO Regime  •  India makes grade in Stem Cell Research  •  School Back Packs and Back Pain  •  Salt Of The Earth  •  Morals In Management  •  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  •  Room Bits and Spice  •  Do you know what is the full word of family?  •  Islam, Hinduism And Truth  •  Role of Muslims in India’s Freedom Movement  •  If Not Today, When?

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