A Science Week Ireland talk outlined the power of genetic technology. Rebecca Little reports on a revolution
Cloning, mapping the human genome and researching the science of stem cells would have been the stuff of science fiction a mere 20 years ago.
Like it or not, however, they are now realities, with the potential to revolutionise medicine, as participants in Science Week Ireland heard last night.
"The more we know about how DNA works, the more we should be able to take any cell and reprogramme it," said Dr Thomas McCarthy, a professor at University College Cork, in a lecture on advancements in genetic engineering.
The advances could enable doctors to reverse genetic disorders such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. They could also allow them to regenerate organs.
In experiments with mice, which have roughly the same number of genes as humans, researchers have manipulated DNA in ways that were "inconceivable" before, said McCarthy. "We can take out any gene we want and we can put in any gene we want and we can alter any gene we want," he said.
It is also possible simply to replicate them. Dr McCarthy explained the mechanics of cloning, which is relatively simple in principle. "Every cell in our body has a nucleus containing all the genetic information and thus the potential to make a human or an animal."
To clone an animal, a researcher removes the nucleus from a standard cell and places it in an egg cell from the same animal. "If you reimplant that egg with the nucleus replaced into it, you can clone it."
Sheep, cats and rabbits have been cloned with varying degrees of success. Dolly, the famed clone sheep, died after six years. "We are looking at the increased success rate with animals, and, based on the number of successes, human cloning is possible," he said.
The odds of cloning a human have greatly increased since the human genome was mapped. The genome includes all of the billions of steps found in the genetic blueprint.
"Over the next 20 years, we'll know how every bit of it works. We should be able to reprogramme it with huge benefits to medicine," said McCarthy. "It raises huge ethical questions, but the technology and the knowledge are going to be there."
Dr McCarthy also talked about the advances in stem-cell research, which has similar potential to benefit medicine but stirs up even more controversy.
Stem cells have huge potential for medical treatments because they have the ability to turn into any of the 200 cell types found in the human body.
Experiments on mice have shown stem cells may be able to reverse the damage arising from inherited diseases such as Parkinson's; just this week researchers in the US found that stem cells may be able to rebuild a damaged heart after a heart attack.
Stem cells can be found in adults and embryos, but embryonic stem cells are more sought after by researchers because they are more versatile. These cells are what fetuses use to grow organs, bones and body tissues.
"The major impetus for embryonic stem cells is that it's easier to alter embryonic stem cells to produce other stem cells," said McCarthy.
Adult stem cells exist in the liver, brain and bone marrow but are more difficult to recover and manipulate.
"Stem cells from the bone marrow can be used to reconstitute blood to a certain extent, and the same type of stem cells can be used to reconstitute the liver.
"That means that there are existing cells in the body that may be able to go in a number of directions if we know how to switch them to turn into particular tissues."Today
Talk: What's In Our Air? What's In Our Water? Gleeson Hall, Dublin Institute of Technology, noon. Bookings on 01-4024779.
Symposium: Science & Society. Callan Building, NUI Maynooth, 7.30 p.m.
Talk: Alien Life. Waterford Institute of Technology, 7 p.m. Bookings on 051-302037.
Poetry reading: Verse & Universe, symposium on the relationship between science and poetry.
Irish Writers' Centre, Dublin, 7.30 p.m.
Tomorrow
Demonstration: Chemistry And Things That Go Fizz And Pop. Science labs, Tallaght Institute of Technology, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Bookings on 01-4042406.
Talk: Science & Crime. Dundalk Institute of Technology, 1 p.m.
Open day: Secret World Of Bats. Scoil Mhuire, Glenties,
Co Donegal. 10 a.m.- 3p.m. Bookings on 075-51521.
Discussion: The Challenge Of Civic Science. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 7.30 p.m. Bookings on 01-6140122.