Another source of pluripotent stem cells

A study in Nature finds that stem cells taken from men’s testicles seem to be as versatile as embryonic stem cells. The research was done by German scientists. Germany has a policy against the killing embryos for research which is very similar to Michigan’s laws. Here’s the AP story.

The new study used cells taken from biopsied tissue from 22 different men undergoing various medical treatments. The men ranged in age from 17 to 81. Researchers found that after a few weeks of growth, the cells could differentiate into various types of cells just like those taken from embryos.