Stem cell coup for Toronto

Toronto scientists have scored a major breakthrough in stem cell research, coming first in a worldwide race to find a safer way to make human skin cells act like embryonic stem cells. The discovery could well bring the promise of personalized organ repair within reach of patients.

Andras Nagy and his team of scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital are the first to reprogram adult human cells into embryonic-like stem cells without using potentially dangerous viruses that could cause cancer.

The finding overcomes one of the major hurdles in using the reprogramming technique in the search for new drugs, finding innovative cures for disease and creating personalized organs and tissue for patients.

Experts say the elegant discovery quickly will be adopted by labs around the world and will accelerate further advances in biology's hottest field.