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Researchers say they have been able to grow fat, muscle and
bone cells from cells taken from skin. Wake Forest University
School of Medicine scientists in Winston-Salem, N.C., say the
discovery could help people re-grow breasts and mend broken
bones. "These cells should provide a valuable resource for
tissue repair and for organs as well," says senior researcher
on the project. "Because the cells are taken from a patient's
own skin, there would not be problems with organ or tissue
rejection." Using skin from routine circumcisions, researchers
isolated stem cells. They were able to grow the stem cells in
culture dishes in a laboratory. Using hormones and growth
factors, the scientists were able to convince the stem cells
to grow into fat, muscle and bone cells. To see if the cells
would maintain their new "shape", scientists implanted them
into mice. The cells did, in fact, retain their new forms.
Most scientists say the most versatile stem cells come from
human embryos. But the ethical and political debate over the
use of that kind of stem cell makes it unlikely it will become
a viable form of therapy in the near future. However, the Wake
Forest researchers say stem cells from the skin of the patient
receiving the treatment would not encounter the same legal and
ethical obstacles. Researchers say the next step is to see how
long the engineered tissues will last.
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