What can Iranian scientists teach the West about stem cell research?

[In the past 14 years, Iran has] made great strides in stem cell research. And now that Iran is losing its pariah-state status after sanctions were lifted, there are opportunities for collaborations with non-Iranian scientists….

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Iran didn’t view stem cell research as problematic because under Islamic law life is defined not at conception, but when one can distinguish a heartbeat…While the world scrutinized Iranian nuclear advances, the country’s stem cell embryonic research had risen to the scientific forefront.

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Partnering with Iranian colleagues offers many advantages, said [Ali Brivanlou, who leads the Stem Cell Biology and Molecular Embryology lab at The Rockefeller University]…Their technologies can help countries neighboring Iran, which face similar medical and environmental challenges but aren’t as advanced.

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Richard Stone, who oversees international coverage at the journal Science, said that because Iranian scientists had to play by tougher rules, they learned to think about every little detail of a study or experiment.

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Joining forces in research would unlock the untapped potential the Iranian stem cell scientists hold, Brivanlou said. It would also allow Western and Iranian scientists to share and exchange research materials, allowing for greater genetic diversity in experiments.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: What Iran May Be Able to Teach Us About Stem Cells