Science Spin: iPS Cell Research in the News

Big scientific developments have always been spun to meet particular social agendas. We have seen it in the context of global warming, nuclear power, and genetically modified organisms. But few stories illustrate the phenomenon of spin as well as the reaction, and concomitant media coverage, that surrounded the November 2007 announcement regarding the reprogramming of skin cells to produce cells with qualities comparable to those of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.