Ever since Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka found a way to treat skin cells with four genes and reprogram them back to their embryonic state, scientists have been buzzing over the promise of stem cell therapies. Stem cells can be coaxed to become any of the body’s cell types, so they could potentially replace diseased or …
Tag: diabetes
Oct 15 2014
New Stem Cell Treatment May Cure Type 1 Diabetes
In a paper published in the journal Cell, Douglas Melton announces that he has created a virtually unlimited supply of the cells that are missing in people with type 1 diabetes. By replacing these cells—and then protecting them from attack by the body’s immune system—Melton, now a professor and stem cell researcher at Harvard, says …