Obtained for the first time human stem cells through cloning
US researchers have first cloned a human cell following a technique similar to that given to Dolly sheep (it was the first mammal to be cloned satisfactorily from an adult cell). and then obtained from it embryonic cells compatible with the donor.
The researchers from Oregon have performed exactly a nuclear transfer of somatic cells (SCNT, according to their acronym in English), a technique by which the nucleus of a adult cell from a donor is transferred to the ' inside of an egg that has previously been removed from the nucleus. The process causes the resulting cell, with a DNA identical to that of the donor cell, to begin to divide as if it were an embryo.
This milestone, the authors of the study say, opens up new avenues for the use of stem cells that "help the development of personalized therapies." "These stem cells could heal diseases that affect millions of people," says Mitalipov.
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