US stem cell research

Researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Massachusetts, US, have developed a technique to transform human skin cells into brain cells. They reprogrammed developed skin cells into a stem cell state and then transformed them into healthy brain cells. Injections of these cells could repair damage caused by Parkinson's disease by providing dopamine.

The work demonstrates the ingenuity of biomedical researchers in the US working under the restrictions on embryonic stem cell research imposed by the Bush administration. Scientists have been given a boost this week by President Barack Obama's decision to lift these limitations, expand government-funded research and order federal agencies to strengthen the role of science when making policy decisions.