Timeline

The art and science of Frankenstein

The novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus tells the story of scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a human-like being from assembled body parts. The author, Mary Shelley, was fascinated by scientific discoveries of her time that challenged ideas about what is ‘natural’. The novel is often evoked in public debates about new biotechnologies, to pose questions still relevant today: What happens when humans manipulate life, and who has responsibility for what follows? Frankenstein illustrates the power of art to facilitate shared curiosity about science and its meanings.

Photo: Actor Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, 1931.
Universal Studios, NBC Universal, public domain.

Ernst Haeckel coins “Stammzelle”

The German evolutionary biologist Ernst Haeckel was the first to use the word stem cell (Stammzelle) in a scientific context. Then, “stammzelle” referred to the fertilized egg, as the original “ur-cell” that begins biological development. Today, we know that stem cells exist throughout life, not just during development. Haeckel’s main contribution to stem cell research was not a particular scientific discovery, but rather a strong metaphor that sparked imagination.

The first bone marrow transplants begin

In New York, Dr. E. Donnall Thomas saved the life of a child with leukaemia by transplanting bone marrow from their identical twin, but scientists couldn’t explain exactly how it worked. Then in the 1960s, Canadian researchers Ernst McCulloch and James Till showed in mouse experiments that it was a specific type of stem cell, called hematopoetic stem cells, that made new blood cells in the bone marrow. The first human transplant in Denmark was performed in 1970 at Blegdamshospitalet, now called the Panum Institute. Today 50,000 hematopoetic stem cell transplants are performed worldwide each year.

First baby born through IVF

Today, roughly one in eight children in Denmark are born through in vitro fertilisation or IVF. Back in 1978, the first ‘IVF baby’ was born in the UK. Louise Joy Brown appeared on front pages around the world, bringing hope to people struggling with infertility. The advent of IVF also challenged ideas about what is natural and artificial, and shook up societal norms around family configurations. IVF and stem cell research have overlapping histories: donated surplus embryos from IVF were pivotal to late 20th century advances in stem cell science, and today there is stem cell research on why IVF fails.

Photo: Front cover of the London Evening News, 27 July 1978.

Skin transplants save lives

Historically, skin cells were very hard to grow in the lab. US scientists Howard Green and his student James Rheinwald were studying a rare mouse tumour when they unexpectedly discovered that cells from the top layer of the skin, epidermis, were able to grow when combined with another type of cell. When they recreated this combination in the laboratory, they were able to expand a patch of skin from the size of a stamp to the size of a desktop. Green was immediately struck by the potential and in 1983 helped save the lives of two young boys with severe burns, generating hundreds of skin grafts in his laboratory.

The sheep Dolly was cloned from her mother

On July 5, 1996, the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell was born at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. Dolly the sheep was created from a single mammary gland cell from her mother – hence the name, inspired by the busty country singer Dolly Parton. Dolly showed that adult cells were far more flexible than previously thought: even a cell from milk-producing tissue can be made to trigger the development of an embryo when placed inside an egg cell. Dolly’s body is on display at the National Museum of Scotland.

Photo: Dolly the Sheep exhibited at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. Mike McBey. CC BY 2.0.

Human embryonic stem cells in the lab

Before 1998, human stem cells used in research came from specific organs or tissues and could usually only produce cell types from that organ. In 1998, scientists succeeded in growing stem cells from 4-5 day old embryos donated after IVF treatment, inspired by work on mice a decade earlier. This new form of stem cell was ‘pluripotent’: in other words, they had the potential to become any cell in the body. The discovery received extensive media attention because it opened up the possibility of producing large numbers of cells to treat many kinds of disease and injuries.

New laws introduced

While the discovery of human embryonic stem cells raised hopes for future treatments, it also sparked debates about if and how embryos should be used in research. In the early 2000s, new laws were passed around the world. For example, in Denmark, Australia, the Netherlands and the UK, these laws allowed donated surplus embryos to be used – but in Germany and elsewhere this was banned. In 2001, US President George W. Bush restricted federal funds to research on cells already produced, as he explained in a live TV address. In 2009, US President Barack Obama overturned the restrictions.

Photo: President George W. Bush talks to the nation about stem cell research from Crawford, Texas, 2001. Eric Draper. Public domain.

The future can be a delicate subject for scientists. They are often asked to speculate about what will be possible – but it is tricky cultivating hope without overselling the future, when a lot of uncertainty remains. Researchers Nik Brown and Mike Michaels dubbed the study of this wider phenomenon “The Sociology of Expectations”. Sociological studies in the early 2000s highlighted the hype surrounding stem cell futures and the damage that was done when promises were not met. This history still poses challenges for communication around stem cell futures today.

Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka and his research team at Kyoto University developed a groundbreaking method to turn adult skin cells back into a pluripotent state, from which they could grow into any type of cell in the body. Previously, obtaining this type of stem cell was only possible by using human embryos. In 2012, Yamanaka received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work.

Photo: Dr. Shinya Yamanaka. © The Nobel Foundation. U. Montan, CC BY 4.0

The arrival of organoids

Organoids are tiny bundles of cells woven together to mimic key functions of particular organs. For example, a collection of heart cells that can beat. In 2008, Japanese biologist Yoshiki Sasai grew organoids that resembled a particular brain region, while on the other side of the globe Dutch scientist Hans Clevers produced intestinal organoids. More organoids followed, including the kidney organoids reported by Australian scientist Melissa Little in 2015. Organoids are now used widely in research and drug testing.

Photo: An intestinal organoid grown in the lab from a single stem cell, 2023. Martti Maimets, reNEW Copenhagen.

Parkinson’s patients enter clinical trial

Many stem cell scientists hope that their research will help patients. But the path from lab to clinic is hard. Potential treatments must be rigorously tested, precisely manufactured, evaluated in clinical trials, approved by regulators, and integrated into patient’s lives. Today, hundreds of clinical trials are underway, including a trial in Sweden and the UK called STEM-PD. The trial is based on research by Danish scientist Agnete Kirkeby and aims to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, by replacing the cells lost to the disease. Scientists and patients are hoping for positive results from this and similar trials.g.

Listen to a lecture by Agnete Kirkeby on stem cells and Parkinson’s at the Medical Museion, Science Festival 2024 (in Danish):