A team of international scientists have successfully grown heart tissue from embryonic stem cells. This is great news for people who have had all sorts of heart problems. Except perhaps a broken heart, for them perhaps a hug would work best.
More on the stem cell derived heart:
The researchers created the cells by supplying embryonic stem cell cultures with a cocktail of growth factors and other molecules involved in development.
By supplying the right growth factors at the right time, they encouraged the cells to grow into immature versions of three different types of cardiac cell.
The three cell types they created – cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells are each important constituents of heart muscle.