Creating stem cells using stress
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027668
Nature : Stem cells have proven to be important in certain medical therapies because they can transform into any cell type in the body and propagate indefinitely. While stem cells can be extracted from various tissues, their extraction from human embryos has stirred controversy. In 2006 researchers developed induced pluripotent stem cells , or iPS cells, created directly from adult cells. Now a Japanese team led by Haruko Obokata of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology has found a way to create such pluripotent cells faster and more efficiently—by applying physical stress, such as low pH, heat, or starvation. Experiments with mice have shown that the method should work with most, if not all, cell types.
