LOS ANGELES _ Thousands of the world's leading stem cell researchers are convening in Los Angeles this week to discuss the prospects for a future without human disease.
Stem cells could play a key role. These cells are remarkably flexible; under the right conditions, they can be coaxed to develop into many other types of cells in the body.
Researchers are learning how to harness their natural potential to create whatever type of cell is in demand _ perhaps retinal pigment epithelium cells to restore vision to patients blinded by "dry" macular degeneration, or oligodendrocyte progenitor cells that might protect nerve cells that have been damaged by an injury to the spinal cord. So far, they are making slow but steady advances.
Deepak Srivastava has first-hand experience with the power of stem cells. In his own lab, the doctor has studied early heart development and how cells can be reprogrammed to repair damaged heart tissue. He is now president of the Gladstone Institutes, a nonprofit research center affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, and he's about to begin a yearlong term as president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with Srivastava about what scientists have accomplished with stem cells, and what's coming next.
