Nano World: Nano for stem-cell research

Cutting-edge nanotechnology is beginning to help advance the equally pioneering field of stem-cell research, with devices that can precisely control stem cells and provide self-assembling biodegradable scaffolds and magnetic tracking systems, experts told UPI's Nano World.

Nanotechnology might show people once and for all that you really can help regenerate organs with stem-cell biology and help people walk again, help people after heart attacks, help people after stroke," said John Kessler, a neurologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

"My own daughter had a spinal-cord injury, and the thought that I could contribute to helping my daughter with this is just overwhelmingly exciting to me," Kessler added.

Stem cells are the primordial cells of the body; every other cell type originates from them. Embryonic stem cells have the power to become any other type of cell, while adult stem cells -- those collected from adults, children or umbilical cords -- only can become certain kinds of cells, such as blood or fat. Scientists hope to create new therapies based on stem-cell implants that repair damaged or lost organs and tissues.

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