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Safe Stem Cells Produced From Adult Cells

hackingbear writes "Wired, citing a paper published in Science magazine, reports that Harvard scientists may have found a safer way of giving a flake of skin the biologically alchemical powers of embryonic stem cells by turning adult cells into versatile, embryonic-like cells without causing permanent damage. The technique involves 'adding cell-reprogramming genes to adenoviruses, a type of virus that infects cells without affecting their DNA.' Four-month trials on mice demonstrated that the resulting stem cells are free from unpredictable cancer-inducing mutations. This is definitely a breakthrough in stem cell research." Additional coverage is available at Yahoo, and Science hosts the research paper, although you'll need a subscription to see more than the abstract.

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  1. Re:Hmmmm by OriginalArlen · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Oh god, another slow news day. *yawn* http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/page/9

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    Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven