Reuters
Science - Reuters

Ampoules containing a medium for stem cell storage are displayed at the UK Stem Cell Bank in north London, May 19, 2004. Researchers trying to find ways to transform ordinary skin cells into powerful stem cells said on Sunday they found a shortcut by 'sprinkling' a chemical onto the cells. (Peter Macdiarmid/Reuters)

Researchers find easier way to make stem cells

Sun Oct 12, 1:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers trying to find ways to transform ordinary skin cells into powerful stem cells said on Sunday they found a shortcut by "sprinkling" a chemical onto the cells.

  • Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft is setting up on its launch pad on the Baikonur cosmodrome October 10, 2008. U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke are scheduled to fly to the International Space Station on October 12, 2008. (Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)
    U.S. space tourist blasts off in Russian rocket Sun Oct 12, 1:18 PM ET

    BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - U.S. video game magnate Richard Garriott blasted off into space aboard a Russian rocket on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War.

  • Two more genes linked to common skin cancer Sun Oct 12, 2:04 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found two new genetic variations that appear to increase the risk of the most common skin cancer among people of European descent.

  • A note (L) is placed under a candle during an AIDS International Candlelight Memorial in Belgrade May 18, 2008. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
    AIDS vaccine focus shifts after disappointments Sun Oct 12, 8:17 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A global AIDS vaccine conference this week will seek fresh strategies against the HIV virus, with experts weighing the value of basic laboratory research against large-scale human clinical trials after a string of disappointments.

  • Young giant pandas are seen in their enclosure at Beijing Zoo July 10, 2008. Eight giant pandas are part of a special exhibit at the zoo for the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. (Darren Whiteside/Reuters)
    Scientists sequence giant panda's genome: report Sat Oct 11, 1:55 PM ET

    SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Scientists have sequenced the genome of the giant panda, an achievement which may aid efforts to protect the endangered species, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

  • NASA gives budget-busting Mars probe a reprieve Fri Oct 10, 6:08 PM ET

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA needs more money to resolve problems with its next Mars mission and keep it on track for launch next year, and is gambling that the U.S. Congress will find the extra funds, officials said on Friday.

  • U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott (C) meets his friends Peter Diamandis (L), co-founder and managing director of Space Adventure, and Sergey Brin, Google co-founder, at Baikonur cosmodrome October 11, 2008. Garriott, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke are scheduled to fly to the International Space Station on October 12, 2008. (Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)
    Google founder Brin visits Russian space cosmodrome Sun Oct 12, 5:21 AM ET

    BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Google co-founder Sergey Brin, considering going into space on a private flight, made a surprise visit to Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome on Saturday to wish good luck to a fellow space tourist.

  • Doctors, investors get latest data on heart devices Fri Oct 10, 11:04 AM ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) - After years of controversy and concern over the safety and overuse of drug-coated heart stents, physicians and investors attending a cardiology meeting next week will get a clearer look at how these devices are used.

  • An undated image showing mouse embryonic stem cells stained with a flourescent green marker. (National Science Foundation/Handout/Reuters)
    New method generates stem cells safely from mice Thu Oct 9, 5:14 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese researchers who invented a way to make powerful stem cells out of ordinary cells say they have now found a safer way to do it.

  • The montage shows the zebrafish digital embryo [left halves, colors encode movement directions of cells] and the microscopy data [right halves] at different time points in zebrafish development. (Research in Molecular Biology/handout/Reuters)
    Microscope shows first hours of developing embryo Thu Oct 9, 2:45 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - A new high-powered microscope has allowed scientists to watch a zebrafish develop from a single cell into an embryo with a beating heart, the first time this has been possible in vertebrates, researchers said on Thursday.

  • A blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, in an undated photo. Scientists using DNA testing have confirmed the second-known instance of 'virgin birth' in a shark -- a female Atlantic blacktip shark named Tidbit that produced a baby without a male shark. (Matthew D. Potenski/Handout/Reuters)
    Virgin shark got pregnant in Virginia aquarium Fri Oct 10, 12:17 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists using DNA testing have confirmed the second-known instance of "virgin birth" in a shark -- a female Atlantic blacktip shark named Tidbit that produced a baby without a male shark.

  • Mount Etna spews lava on the southern Italian island of Sicily September 4, 2007. (Antonio Parrinello/Reuters)
    Volcano in lab may help predict real eruptions Thu Oct 9, 2:04 PM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have recreated conditions found in an erupting volcano in the laboratory, offering a new way to understand and forecast future damaging eruptions.

  • Ginkgo extract offers promise to cut stroke damage Thu Oct 9, 4:30 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Extract from the leaves of the ginkgo tree offers promise to minimize brain damage caused by a stroke, scientists said on Thursday.