By BBC News.
The ability to create stem cell treatments without using embryos is a step closer, say researchers.
A UK and Canadian team have manipulated human skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells without using viruses - making them safer for use in humans.
The cells are reprogrammed by the insertion of four genes which are then removed once the process is complete, they report in Nature.
While a significant step it is early days, the Edinburgh-based experts say.
Much of the work on stem cells has focused on those taken from embryos as they have an unlimited capacity to become any of the 220 types of cell in the human body - a so-called pluripotent state.
But campaigners have objected to their use on the grounds that it is unethical to destroy embryos in the name of science.
 |  It is a step towards the practical use of reprogrammed cells in medicine, perhaps even eliminating the need for human embryos as a source of stem cells  Dr Keisuke Kaji, study leader |
In 2007, teams in Japan and the US managed to genetically modify skin cells to be pluripotent, opening the way for a new source of stem cells for use in research.
However, the technique used viruses to genetically modify the cells, which means there was a risk they could become cancerous and so would not be safe for medical use.
The latest study reports a way of delivering foreign genes to reprogramme the cells without using viruses in mouse and human cells. Read more...
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