‘It can create life’: Chinese team claim stem cell breakthrough in mice study
- Researchers say they turned one type of stem cell into another that can develop into all types in the body
- The findings have wide-ranging implications, including for animals at risk of extinction, co-author says
In a study on mice cells published in the journal Nature journal on Tuesday, Tsinghua University researchers said the stem cells could create life without the need for reproductive cells.
Ding Sheng, a professor at the university’s school of pharmaceutical sciences and corresponding author of the study, said the research had a wide range of implications, from replication of animals at risk of extinction to accelerating the evolution of a species.
“The greatest significance of our study is that the induced totipotent cells have the potential to create life,” Ding said.
“Life can only be created through germline cells. It’s the law of nature. But now [researchers] may possess the ability to create life without those reproductive cells, though the creation of life itself has philosophical or religious meaning.”
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Malaysia hopes to save endangered rhino from extinction with stem cell technology
In the study, the researchers transformed pluripotent mice stem cells into totipotent stem cells.
