| Bangalore: At the frontier of modern science, researchers are trying to find out how simple cells in a human embryo develop into organs like a heart, a brain and kidneys. |
| |
| In India, only a handful of private players had, until now, ventured into this cutting edge area -popularly known as embryonic stem cell research. |
| |
| Now, for the first time, the Indian government, through its Department of Biotechnology (DBT), is funding a Bangalore-based effort to generate embryonic stem cell lines which can be used in the country for research. |
| |
| The DBT is funding one of India's foremost stem cell researchers Dr Satsh Totey, now with the Manipal Group, to work along with one of the country's first stem cell research cluster created in Bangalore. |
| |
| Lack of availability of embryonic stem cell lines (cultured cells from embryos having the potential to become any specialised cell) in India has, incidentally, hampered research efforts in the frontier area. |
| |
| The private Reliance Life Sciences group and the National Centre of Biological Sciences have been the only ones that have managed to officially develop embryonic stem cell lines in India so far. |
| |
| While Reliance has reported advances in their research, the cells at NCBS have petered out after five to six passages of development. Individual efforts by other researchers have met with little success too. |
| |
| "This is the first government-funded project to derive stem cell lines in India. This will take us a year or two to generate,'' says Totey. |
| |
| While researchers had sought a Rs 2-crore funding for the project they have been allocated a fraction of the amount. |
| |
| The research group at Manipal will work in association with other life science researchers in Bangalore at the Indian Institute of Science, NCBS, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and the Centre for Human Genetics. |
| |
| "Earlier stem cell researchers were working in isolation in the country. Now, the DBT has asked stem cell researchers to create clusters. The one in Bangalore is the biggest cluster," says Totey. There are also clusters at Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi. |
| |
| Embryonic stem cell research holds out the promise of lab production of the cells of human organs for treatment of diabetes, heart failure, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and spinal cord injuries - considered incurable now. |
