Scientists Turn Human Skin Cells Into Stem Cells

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Can the newly designed cells be used to clone humans? "Any cell in the body can do that," Thomson said. "It's probably true of these cells, if you manipulate them enough, but not if you put them in the body as they are."

It's not clear in either of the two new studies if the cells are completely pluripotent or if one line is more efficient than the other. "Will they have the ability to fully differentiate?" Tsai asked. "There's some evidence that they can move from a differentiated state to an undifferentiated state, but will they be able to reverse back?"

"We have to be sure the cells are safe," Yamanaka said. "One of the difficulties about human embryonic stem cells is their tumorigenicity [propensity to develop tumors]. Because of the usage of retroviruses, iPS cells may be more tumorigenic than human embryonic stem cells. We will have to find a way to avoid retroviruses."

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But for the more immediate purposes of drug discovery and toxicology, the use of retroviruses is not a big problem, Yamanaka added.

iPS may present their own ethical concerns, however, if they are used to generate sperm and egg cells. "This might help people with infertility problems, but it will be essential to have proper regulation regarding the generation and usage of human iPS cells to avoid misusages of this technology," Yamanaka said.

More information

Learn more about stem cells at the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

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