Stem Cell research breakthrough in Jerusalem

"A new technology developed at Hadassah University Medical Center has made it possible to produce large amounts of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for industry and research by growing them in suspension. Until now, hESCs – which have the potential of ripening into any other type of body cells for repair of tissues and organs – have been created in small numbers."- Judy Seigel-Itzkovitch. In the past stem cells have been grown on beds in one layer. The Hadassah researchers were able to cultivate the stem cells for the first time in large vats with precise, computerized monitoring of growth conditions.

Called a "breakthrough" in hESC technology—The article, titled "Derivation, propagation and controlled differentiation of human embryonic stem cells in suspension," was written by Dr. Debora Steiner as part of her post-doctoral work under the direction of Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, both of Hadassah's Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, with participation by other Hadassah colleagues. HESC research has been stymied by the fact that it has, until now, been difficult to make large amounts of them."- Judy Seilgel-Itzkovitch. A German study "conducted by the Central Library of the ResearchCenter Julich, then confirming Israel's prominence in stem cell research showed that Israel "is the leading publisher of stem cell research per capita in the world. According to the report, which covers the years 2000-2004, Israel publishes 113 articles per every 1 million citizens, a ratio that exceeds any other country in the world. Israel is followed in rank by Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria. The US places at sixth, though it comes in first when judged by sheer volume alone at 13,663 articles compared to Israel's 690."- A Marguiles 2006 "Israel is among a small group of countries that have developed their own stem-cell regulations that permit most types of work in the field. Israel's carefully regulated but open atmosphere for research has helped catapult it into the front ranks of a field that many consider the next frontier of science. "What Israel has done in the laboratory and in their oversight mechanisms is a model for other nations to emulate," said Georgetown University's LeRoy Walters, an expert in the global dimensions of stem-cell research. "Israel's move toward the front rank began at the dawn of the embryonic stem-cell age, in 1998. In that year an Israeli scientist from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Joseph Itskovitz, was on the University of Wisconsin team that first isolated and grew stem cells from a human embryo. The next scientist to achieve that feat was Benjamin Reubinoff, a Hadassah researcher."-N. Popper 2004, Forward