From human embryonic stem cells to billions of human insulin producing cells

This is an image of human stem cell-derived beta cells that have formed islet like clusters in a mouse. Cells were transplanted to the kidney capsule and photo was... Harvard stem cell researchers today announced that they have made a giant leap forward in the quest to find a truly effective treatment for type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects an estimated three million Americans at a cost of about $15 billion annually: With human embryonic stem cells as a starting point, the scientists are for the first time able to produce, in the kind of massive quantities needed for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical purposes, human insulin-producing beta cells equivalent in most every way to normally functioning beta cells.

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