Exclusive: The miracle cure - scientists turn human skin into stem cells

[Jefferson23]

A simple laboratory process raises hopes of a cure for serious illnesses including heart disease and Parkinson's, and could lead to the creation of embryos, according to one scientist


Steve Connor

Sunday 09 February 2014

Human skin cells have been turned into stem cells which have the potential to develop into fully-formed embryos, simply by bathing them in weak citric acid for half an hour, a leading scientist has told The Independent on Sunday.


The demonstration that the technique, which was pioneered on mouse cells, also works on human skin cells raises the prospect of new treatments for incurable illnesses, from Parkinson's to heart disease, based on regenerating diseased organs in situ from a patient's own stem cells.

Although there is no intention to create human embryos from skin cells, scientists believe that it could, theoretically, be possible to do so given that entire mouse embryos have already been effectively created from the re-engineered blood cells of laboratory mice.

Creating the mouse embryos was the final proof the scientists needed to demonstrate that the stem cells were "pluripotent", and so capable of developing into any specialised tissue of an adult animal, including the "germ cells" that make sperm and eggs.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exclusive-the-miracle-cure--scientists-turn-human-skin-into-stem-cells-9117102.html