Stop worrying about embryonic stem cells – they may not be needed any more
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Development of red blood cells (erythrocytes) from multipotent hematocytoblast stem cells (Image: A. Rad)
A colony of induced pluripotent stem cells regressed from red blood cell lineage-committed stem cells
Micrograph of endothelial tissue grown from blood-derived pluripotent stem cells
Article Summary
There are ongoing moral and ethical battles concerning the farming and application of human embryonic stem cells in medical research and applications. Without judging any of the viewpoints represented in the fracas, it is clear that the stem cell world would be a friendlier place if the harvesting of embryonic stem cells were not necessary. Toward this goal, Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body.
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