Source: Reuters
Posted: June 27, 2007 1:04 PM
Reuters reports on the discovery of a new type of stem cell that should hasten research into cures for diseases:
"Scientists have discovered a new type of embryonic stem cell in mice and rats that should speed up research into regenerative medicine and help in the hunt for cures to a range of diseases. Two independent teams from Britain's Oxford and Cambridge universities said on Wednesday that so-called rodent epiblast stem cells were very similar to human embryonic stem cells, making them particularly good models for analyzing human health."
The study's lead scientist at Cambridge University believes the similarities between the mouse and human cells will make it easier to use mouse embryonic stem cells to study human embryonic stem cells:
"The new cells effectively constitute a "missing link" between mouse and human embryonic stem cells, according to Roger Pedersen, leader of the Cambridge group. Laboratory mice have long been a favorite model for human disease but researchers have been frustrated by the fact that human and mouse stem cells behave very differently. Now scientists think they may have cracked the problem."
The story also notes that this discovery is a sign of progress in the field of embryonic stem cell research:
"The use of epiblast stem cells will not lead to immediate breakthroughs in clinical treatments but the fact that two teams made the discovery almost simultaneously is a sign of momentum picking up in stem cell research."
