Feb 28, 2014 | Others, Weekly Articles
Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, have transformed human skin cells into mature, fully functioning liver cells. Additionally, these cells can thrive on their own after being transplanted into laboratory animals.
So far, Scientists have been able turn skin cells into cells closely resembling heart cells and pancreas cells, but there has not been a method to generate cells that are fully mature. But in this latest study, published in the journal Nature, researchers figured out a way to overcome these obstacles.
This technique could serve as an alternative for liver-failure patients who don’t need full-organ replacement, or who don’t have access to transplant.
