Of mice and men

Scientists from Canada's McGill University in Montreal have reported that it may become possible for human skin cells to transform into other types of tissue cells, such as muscle, nerve or fat. The researchers think that stem cells isolated from the lowest levels of skin may eventually be harvested in enough quantities to allow a patient to be treated with his or her own cells.

The Canadian team has managed to isolate stem cells from the skin of adult mice and to proliferate them in a laboratory. The stem cells were then developed into neural cells of the type that could potentially be used to treat spinal cord injury or diseases like Parkinson's. Studies on humans have indicated that similar types of cell can be found in human skin.

Professor Freda Miller, leader of the research team, said that the discovery opens up many possibilities: 'The idea that you could find a cell in skin that's capable of making brain cells, for example, was so radical it was almost beyond belief. We believe our discovery is important as we have identified an exciting new stem cell from a non-controversial source that holds considerable promise for scientific and therapeutic use.'

The discovery was welcomed by anti-abortion campaigners and other opponents of embryo stem cell research. Last week President Bush gave the go-ahead to a limited amount of embryo stem cell research in the US, but only that which did not involve the further destruction of embryos.