New Technique Harvests Stem Cells at Earlier Stage

WEDNESDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they have finally succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells earlier in the development stage of a blastomere, or a 4-cell stage embryo, so the whole embryo is not destroyed.

The development, expected to be presented Wednesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology annual conference in Barcelona, may make stem cell research easier to conduct by not raising as many ethical concerns, the researchers added.

"Previously, scientists have been able to derive hESC [human embryonic stem cell] lines at the 8-cell stage," Hilde Van de Velde of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium, said in a news release issued by the society, "but success rates were variable, and it was necessary to culture them by mixing with established hESC lines. We have been able to derive hESCs at an earlier stage of embryonic development, and without the need for co-culture with established hESC lines. Now we have derived a second hESC from one cell of a 4-cell stage embryo. Given the complex nature of earlier attempts, we were pleased...