A team of researchers at the British Scientific Institute announced the discovery of a new technology that enables the reprogramming of human cells and transforms them into stem cells. According to research results, this technology will increase the technical ability to reprogram human cells 100 more times and could lead to the formation of more quality cells at a faster pace. With the discovery, the efficiency of reprogramming will increase by using four proteins added to two others. According to the institute, the hope is to use these cells in the production of healthy cells instead of dead or damaged ones. The discovery is being touted as a step that could revolutionize many medical areas such as planting and replacement of organs and possibly bones and treatment of nervous system diseases. The director of the British Scientific Institute Alan Bradley described the research as a prominent and “most important in terms of the possibility of practical application for the production of non-specialized cells capable of renewing itself through division. “Therefore, this technique can be used to create functional cells of tissues or organs,” he said. Wang Wei, one of the researchers, said that “this result is an important discovery in the study of human stem cells and provides the basis for the launch of stem cells capacity.” As for, Liu Pintao, another researcher at the Institute, “the technology will enable researchers to plan human stem cells reprograming in a simple way in order to form cells that can be used in different planting and replacement operations.” In essence, researchers have succeeded in reprogramming cells within four days in comparison to seven days using traditional techniques and could possibly lead to larger scale applications. BM
