News Animals

Scientists have just turned giant panda skin cells into stem cells

Here’s why that’s potentially a big deal for panda conservation

A giant panda nibbles on bamboo.

This year, scientists took skin cells from this giant panda and transformed them into a kind of stem cell that can potentially become any kind of cell in the body.

Imaginechina Limited / Alamy Stock Photo

By Jason Bittel

With roughly 2,000 giant pandas remaining in the wild, scientists have spent the last several decades looking for new ways to help the iconic black-and-white bears stave off extinction.