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Cellular conversion turns brain into blood
Under the proper conditions, the unspecialized cells that normally give rise to various tissue types in the brain can also act as bone marrow, the crucial source of an adult body's blood cells.
References:
Bjornson, C.R.R. . . . A.L. Vescovi. 1999. Turning brain into blood: A hematopoietic fate adopted by adult neural stem cells in vivo. Science 283(Jan. 22):534.
Flax, J.D. . . . E.Y. Snyder. 1998. Engraftable human neural stem cells respond to developmental cues, replace neurons, and express foreign genes. Nature Biotechnology 16(November):1033.
Further Readings:
Travis, J. 1998. Race to find human stem cells end in tie. Science News 154(Nov. 7):293.
______. 1997. A fantastical experiment. Science News 151(April 5):214.
Zigova, T., and P.R. Sanberg. 1998. The rising star of neural stem cell research. Nature Biotechnology 16(November):1007.
Sources:
Christopher R.R. Bjornson
University of Washington
Department of Biochemistry
Seattle, WA 98195
Angelo L. Vescovi
National Neurological Institute
C. Besta, Via Celoria 11
Milan 1-20133
Italy
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 4, January 23, 1999, p. 54. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
