Monday, October 19, 2009

Yet another breakthrough courtesy of non-embryonic stem cells

From Scientific American:

Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center replaced a 14-year-old boy's missing cheekbones—in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body.

Read the whole thing. Go to the link and scroll down for more Scientific American for more stories in this vein. The magazine doesn't hit you over the head with it, but one common thread in these stories (aside from the miraculous work of the scientists and physicians) is that they involve the use of "adult" stem cells rather than stem cells harvested from embryos.

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