Creating a stem line from an adult
In vitro, embryonic stem cells can be cultured under defined conditions to keep them in their pluripotent state, or they can be stimulated with biochemical and physical cues to differentiate them to different wdult types. Sharon Begley. Researchers are eager to see whether patient-matched stem-cell lines can be produced. Technically called somatic-cell nuclear transfer, therapeutic cloning means producing embryonic cells genetically identical to a donor, usually for the creating a stem line from an adult of using those cells to treat disease. Cloned human blastocysts have been reported before, but not at this level of achievement. By altering the genes in the adult cells, researchers can reprogram feom cells to act similarly to embryonic stem cells.
