UW-Madison scientists have coaxed blood cells, including some from a patient with leukemia, into embryonic-like stem cells, which could improve the understanding and treatment of blood cancers such as leukemia. The discovery by researcher Igor Slukvin and his campus colleagues is the second disease model created at the university involving induced pluripotent stem cells, co-discovered in 2007 by university stem cell pioneer James Thomson. The development should allow scientists to see what goes awry in blood cells when leukemia and similar diseases form, enabling the researchers to better fight the conditions, Slukvin said.
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