Breakthrough raises new possibilities for regenerative medicine, which uses patient’s own cells to repair damaged tissues
Scientists have grown embryo-like structures in the laboratory that produced human blood cells, raising new possibilities for regenerative medicine.
The ability to generate blood stem cells in the laboratory may one day make it possible to treat patients in need of bone marrow transplants using their own cells.
The advance is the latest in a rapidly advancing field in which embryo models are created from stem cells without the need for eggs or sperm, opening a window on the earliest stages of human development.
“It was an exciting moment when the blood-red colour appeared in the dish – it was visible even to the naked eye,” said Dr Jitesh Neupane, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Gurdon Institute and first author of the study.
