 |
 |
The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia 'Hu-mouse' stem-cell breakthrough June 24 2003 South Korean researchers said yesterday they had succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells in the bodies of mice. Maria BioTech, a Seoul research institute, said the so-called "hu-mouse" project represented a step forward in efforts to tackle a variety of diseases because clinical studies could henceforth be carried out on mice rather than human beings. Scientists from the institute injected human embryonic stem cells, carrying enhanced green fluorescent proteins (EGFP), into mice embryos. They then transplanted the embryos into the wombs of four mice. They said they succeeded in producing 11 healthy baby mice. Of the 11 transgenic mice, five had stem-cells bearing EGFP genes in their hearts, livers, kidneys and cartilage. All progeny of the five also had the stem-cell genes. Lead researcher Kim Un-Yong said that the "hu-mouse" project was the first of its kind in the world. "This has not been done before," she said. "The project will help work on curing human disease. "They are perfect mice except for a few human genes," said Maria's head of research Park Se-Pill. Stem cells are the undifferentiated building block cells produced by the body that become specialised cells. Scientists believe that stem-cell research will eventually help repair damaged organs and reverse currently incurable illnesses including some cancers, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. AFP SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/23/1056220545804.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn