A team of scientists led by a 30-year-old Japanese woman has discovered a simple method to produce stem cells — immature cells that can develop into all types of tissues in the body. The team headed by Dr. Haruko Obokata has found that body cells taken from mice can be reprogrammed into stem cells by simply exposing them to low-PH acid liquids.
The discovery, made public in the Jan. 29 issue of Nature magazine, is an epoch-making discovery that defies common knowledge and breaks new ground in life science.
It is hoped that more efforts will be made so that the discovery will lead to the advancement of regenerative medicine. It is also important to recognize that the discovery will have a great impact on biological studies of cells in a larger sense. It is hoped that the discovery will stimulate a wide range of research on cells, irrespective of whether they are from animals or from plants.