RESEARCHERS DISCOVER BREAST STEM CELL
It may be possible to grow replacement breast tissue from breast stem cells, say researchers from Vancouver and Melbourne in an article in Nature. The discovery may also help to understand the mechanism of breast cancer and to identify drugs which can target cancer-causing cells.
The identification of a breast stem cell in mice is a breakthrough but it could be a long time before it will be helpful in medicine. We expect there will be differences between human and mouse breast tissue that may make rapid translation of our findings to human problems a significant challenge,” says Dr Connie Eaves, of Terry Fox Laboratory, in Vancouver.
Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
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