MIRACLE CELLS

Adult miracle stem cells
'Miracle' stem cell find

Researchers have found a type of stem cell which could repair damaged organs without any chance of being rejected by a patient's immune system.

Other scientists have been trying to perfect cloned stem cells as a way of overcoming the rejection problem.

A type of cell found in the bone marrow of adults is so safe it can be transplanted between species.

The mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, don't carry markers on their surfaces which lead to rejection, reports New Scientist.

Ray Chiu, of McGill University in Montreal, even managed to successfully transplant them from pigs to rats.

He also said the cells only seem to go to damaged areas once injected, saying: "They turned into heart muscle, blood vessels and fibrous tissue."

If MSCs live up to their promise there may be no need for the controversial harvesting of embryonic stem cells.

Annemarie Moseley, of Osiris Therapeutics in Baltimore, said: "It does go against our common understanding of the immune system."