Scientists grow stem cells in new medium
Scientists at a laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a stem cell culture medium free of animal cells and used it to derive two new human embryonic stem cell lines.
The new work, reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology, is a crucial step in stem cell research because it will allow growth of these cells without using animal products that can harbor viruses and other potential sources of problems.
“This work helps us clear some of the major hurdles for using these cells therapeutically,” wrote Tenneille Ludwig, the UW-Madison research scientist at the WiCell Research Institute, who led work on developing the new medium.
The development comes as the push for stem cell research has been shaken by the discrediting of South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk‘s claim to have produced tailored embryonic stem cells, and as U.S. lawmakers consider expanding funding for stem cell research.
Source: CNN.
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