Chinese Scientists Develop Living Mice From Skin Cells
July 23, 2009 by admin
Chinese scientists have reported being able to make baby mice from skin cells of animals without the use of embryonic stem cells.
To make this possible, the teams of scientists took regular skin cells from mice, and worked with them to coax them to turn into embryonic stem cells.
They were then able to work with the embryonic cells, to produce living baby mice pups.
If this act can be duplicated and mastered, it would mean that the use of embryos for stem cell research could be avoided altogether, which would be great news for those who are against the practice.
“We are confident that tremendous good can come from demonstrating the versatility of reprogrammed cells in mice, and this research will be used to … understand the root causes of disease and lead to viable treatments and cures of human afflictions,” said Fanyi Zeng of the Shanghai Institute of Medical Genetics.
Stem cells are found in the body and can be used to treat a variety of medical conditions ranging from spinal cord injuries to certain eye conditions.
The two studies are published in the journals Nature and Cell Stem Cell.
