Scientists Grow Diseases Outside The Human Body; Pluripotent Stem Cells Created for 10 Diseases -- Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital Boston Study

Medical News Today -- US researchers have found a way to produce immortal cell strains and tissue types from diseased patients by converting their cells into pluripotent stem cells with the same genetic errors. The new cell lines will enable scientists to investigate ten different genetic disorders like Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, and type 1 diabetes in the test tube instead of in the patient, a huge step forward compared to current methods. The study is the work of researchers from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Washington, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator George Q Daley who is based at Children's Hospital Boston. It is published in the advanced online publication of the journal Cell on August 7th.