iPS cells mimic embryonic stem cells without the ethical problem of destroying an embryo.  Dr. Shinya Yamanaka discovered the connection. In a recent interview he talked about how many times he failed before coming up with the correct formula. David Prentice of the Family Research Council says once he did the research took off like a rocket.

“It was only around Thanksgiving; only a few months ago that they first announced that they could do this with human cells.”

Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical Association says the new research could help scientists understand what causes certain diseases and how they spread.

“Let’s take a skin cell from a Parkinson’s disease patient, create an embryonic stem cell-like line and then be able to study that disease at the cellular level.”

And for all the researchers clamoring for the destructive embryonic stem cell research…

“It’s a pathway for scientists to do research without destroying human life.”

The process is still not problem-free. Prentice says trials involving humans will probably not come any sooner than with traditional embryonic stem cells.

“As an embryonic stem cell they still have problems in terms of forming tumors instead of getting the right cell type.”

But once again science is proving that ethical research is often the best research.