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Turning skin into embryonic stem cells

Introducing four genes into mouse skin fibroblasts reprograms these cells into embryonic stem cells. If similar techniques work in human cells, patient-specific stem cells for tissue engineering and cell-based therapies may be closer to reality.

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Figure 1: Hypothetical strategy for using iPS cells in cell-based therapies.

Katie Ris

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Chang, H., Cotsarelis, G. Turning skin into embryonic stem cells. Nat Med 13, 783–784 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0707-783

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