Boston
WE NOW have a new weapon in the hunt for one of biology’s biggest
prizes—stem cells that can regenerate human tissues. It’s a genetic
fingerprint that will allow biologists to pick out stem cells from millions of
other cells.
Stem cells could eventually be used to grow perfectly matched replacement
tissues or organs for transplants. Stem cells that have the capacity to turn
into any kind of tissue can be found in human embryos and, researchers recently
claimed, in adult bone marrow too
(New Scientist, 26 January 2002, p 4).
But forcing these cells to develop into…
