Japan team says stem cells made paralysed monkey jump again

December 9, 2010 | Source: AFP

Japanese researchers said Wednesday they had used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to restore partial mobility in a small monkey that had been paralyzed from the neck down by a spinal injury.

The team planted four types of genes into human skin cells to create the iPS cells. After six weeks, the animal had recovered to the level where it was jumping around.