Hi dear !
Two teams of scientists successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to function as if they were embryonic stem cells. Many in the scientific community believe that this gap will eventually allow the research of stem cells without the need to create and destroy human embryos, thus evading the ethical and political dilemmas that have plagued this field during the last decade. The implications of this great discovery impact on medical research of all kinds, and accelerates the race in search of a cure against diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's.
Of course, the discovery, which has not been considered a miracle by the scientific community, does not cease to be miraculous. It is not the kind of miracle that breaks the laws of nature, like the partition of the sea. It is a discrete miracle, a miracle that falls within the human and natural parameters, however, it is miraculous - and perhaps even more miraculous.
The moral debate on stem cell research covers ethical, moral and religious aspects. Many saw this as an irreconcilable point between science and religion, the defenders of both sides took their arguments to the courts and government committees, willing to fight to the ultimate consequences. A moral battle that divided society into two camps, both separated by a moral reason.
But there seems to have been a solution on the horizon that would reconcile these two forces. Driven by an iron pragmatism, restricting their research to the ethical parameters acceptable to all, the scientific researchers achieved a scientific solution to the problem. The solution surprised by its simplicity: All they had to do was add four genes. These four genes reprogrammed the chromosomes of skin cells, leaving them "blank", which would allow them to transform them into cells from any part of the body, be it the heart, the brain, the blood or the bones.
Dr. Yamanaka, one of the main responsible for this discovery, calculated that finding the right genes would take several years. Miraculously, it took only a few months
But the solution did not come to light until fundamental theological questions such as: - When does life begin? Who has the right to define it? Did the creation happen? -They were discussed in every classroom, in every medical board, in every university, in every national legislature, at the highest levels of government, recorded in scientific publications, newspapers, and disseminated by the media of the entire globe.
Then and only then, when humanity seemed on the verge of venturing into ethical self-destruction, a miraculous discovery, apparently simple, marks the way discovering stem cells without compromising the sanctity of life.
Perhaps the greatest miracle of all is when we transform obstacles into opportunities-when we reconcile what we think irreconcilable, when we transform darkness into light.
