Breakthrough stem cell research at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. has the potential to revive endangered species. Researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine are aiming to turn stem cells into gametes. Once new eggs and sperm are created, "test tube babies" can be born, possibly preserving a species.
In 1972, researchers preserved skin cells of certain endangered species at the Frozen Zoo, hoping that future technology would help to revive populations, and today Scripps researchers are combining the frozen skin cells with human stem cells to generate stem cells specific to the animal. Stem cells are turned into gametes through re-programming, a process in which retroviruses are used to bring the cells back to earlier stages of development. Last month, scientists created mouse sperm cells through this process.
Scientists view this method of species preservation as a last resort when cheaper, simpler means have failed. For instance, the white rhino, whose population is numbered at seven in the world, would benefit immensely since other methods of trying to save the species have failed. Scientists also hope to help the drill, a West African primate threatened by hunting and habitat degradation.
-compiled by Michelle Lim
Read More
U.Va. Health sees a spike in COVID-19 cases
By Emily Horn | September 4, 2023U.Va. Health ended their vaccination requirements in August, and masks were made optional in most hospital areas in early April.
U.Va. Cancer Center harnesses $12 million grant to support opportunities for undergraduates, ongoing research and new center
By Ellen Wu | January 12, 2023The grant provides an opportunity to establish the Center for Systems Analysis of Stress-Adapted Cancer Organelles, which seeks to find the cause of cancer in individual organelles.
U.Va. Health's rural neurology clinics receive a $500,000 grant to fund research and patient care
By Shrinidhi Kittur | January 12, 2023Established in the rural towns of Tazewell, Abingdon and Wise, the clinics have been providing patient care to otherwise underserved populations for decades.
