Chronology of Stem Cells

2000s

Several reports of adult stem cell plasticity are published

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells, they can be found in children, as well as adults.

Research into adult stem cells has been fueled by their abilities to divide or self-renew indefinitely and generate a cell types of the from which they originate — potentially regenerating the entire organ from a few cells.

1998

James Thomson and coworkers derive the first human embryonic stem cell line at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A breakthrough in human embryonic stem cell research came in November 1998 when a group led by James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison first developed a technique to isolate and grow the cells when derived from human blastocysts.
James A. Thomson (born in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American developmental biologist who also serves as a professor of anatomy in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and as the chief pathologist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. Thomson is currently the scientific director at
WiCell Research Institute, Inc.. WiCell is the spinoff company of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) charged with licensing Thomson's patented stem cells. He is also a member of the Genome Center of Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

1997

Leukemia is shown to originate from a haematopoietic stem cell, the first direct evidence for cancer stem cells.

Cancer stem cell theory is the theory that tumors arise from cells termed cancer stem cells that have properties of normal stem cells, particularly the abilities to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell types, and that these cells persist in tumors as a distinct population that likely causes disease relapse metastasis
A normal stem cell may be transformed into a cancer stem cell through disregulation of the proliferation and differentiation pathways controlling it.

1995

President Bill Clinton signs into law the Dickey Amendment which makes it illegal for Federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of the embryo.

The Dickey Amendment is the name of a piece of federal legislation passed by United States Congress, and signed by former President Bill Clinton which prohibits the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed. HHS funding includes the funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Technically the Dickey Amendment is a "rider" to other legislation, which amends the original legislation. The rider receives its name from the name of the Congressman that originally introduced the amendment, Representative
Jay Dickey. The Dickey amendment language has been added to each of the Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations acts for FY1997 through FY2004. The wording of the rider is generally the same year after year. For FY2005, the wording prohibits HHS from using FY2005 appropriated funds for:
(1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or
(2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.208(a)(2) and Section 498(b) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g(b)) (Title 42, Section 289g(b), United States Code). For purposes of this section, the term "human embryo or embryos" includes any organism, not protected as a human subject under 45 CFR 46 (the Human Subject Protection regulations) . . . that is derived by fertilization parthenogenesis cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes ) or human diploid cells (cells that have two sets of chromosomes, such as somatic cells).