NZ scientists turn skin into brain cells

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Tue, 11 Sep 2012 6:13p.m.

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Scientists in Auckland have achieved a world first - by taking human skin and turning it into brain cells.

Scientists in Auckland have achieved a world first - by taking human skin and turning it into brain cells.

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20/09/2012 8:53:38 a.m.

malcolm wrote:

It takes only four skin cells to make one brain..Male politicians are a prime example...ALL FORESKIN AND NO BRAINS.

13/09/2012 6:36:21 a.m.

Weta wrote:

No wonder they can't find jobs after university...

11/09/2012 10:04:14 p.m.

Mike wrote:

The greens will be out protesting as this is genetic modification to change skin cells to brain cells. Even if the genetic modification is using the same DNA. It has huge potential moving forward.

The greens want the world ignorant and no health breakthroughs, everyone not using transport of any kind as all transport including electric leave a carbon footprint.

Again a high-tech industry in NZ doing well and at the forefront of development. We need more like this.

It also has implications for burn patients as currently burn patients use donor skin to survive, yet the reverse of this could take a cell of the patient, and quite quickly grow more skin cells for the burn patient, grow them outside the patient where the patient is fighting infection etc. It also has potential for the sub-dermal layers where it may be possible to re-grow tissue lost in bad burn cases. The potential is huge.

Take cancer patients, instead of needing a bone marrow transplant, it may be possible to take some cells, screen for cancer and remove the cancer cells, then convert to bone marrow of the patient. The potential is barely even scrating the surface yet.