Turning adult cells embryonic

Turning adult cells embryonic Friday, 08 June 2007 Embryonic stem cells are unique because they can develop into virtually any kind of tissue type, an attribute called pluripotency. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (“therapeutic cloning”) offers the hope of one day creating customized embryonic stem cells with a patient’s own DNA. Here, an individual’s DNA would be placed into an egg, resulting in a blastocyst that houses a supply of stem cells. But to access these cells, researchers must destroy a viable embryo.Now, scientists at Kyoto University, Whitehead Institute, Harvard University and UCLA have all demonstrated that embryonic stem cells can be created without eggs. By genetically manipulating mature skin cells taken from a mouse, the scientists have transformed these cells back into a pluripotent state, one that appears identical to an embryonic stem cell in every way. Read all at: Turning adult cells embryonic CellNEWS - Friday, 08 June 2007 ………….. ZenMaster

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For more on stem cells and cloning, go to CellNEWS at http://www.geocities.com/giantfideli/index.html

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