Genetically modified animals play a huge role in helping researchers to understand the role of specific genes in human disease. Now, Paul Genever at the University of York, UK, and his colleagues are developing an alternative based on human tissue, that could cut the number of animals used in research.
The team has already grown a 3D "tissue scaffold" from mesenchymal stem cells taken from human bone marrow, and is now trying to "knock out" individual genes in the stem cells, enabling them to discover the precise roles the missing genes play. Genever's team is just one of those to receive a grant from non-animal medical research charity the Dr Hadwen Trust, in Hitchin, UK.
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This is an example of ways stem cells will speed up developments in other areas of medicine.
Tags: Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Paul Genever
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