Stem Cell Breakthrough
What's the Latest Development?
For the first time, researchers have succeeded in creating human embryonic stem cells by injecting DNA from a skin cell into an unfertilized egg. To achieve what is being called an "important step" in stem cell research, scientists in New York used a cloning technique similar to the one used to make Dolly the sheep.
What's the Big Idea?
The work shows for the first time that the human egg has the ability to turn a specialized cell into a stem cell, said one of the study authors. The goal of the research was to create patient-specific embryonic stem cells with the patients' DNA for later use in cell replacement therapy. Why? To eventually cure diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes, and many other illnesses.
