STEM CELL RESEARCH
IT’S thought that stem cells hold the key to future medical treatment as they are capable of becoming any cell in the body.
That fact has been underlined by groundbreaking work carried out by Scottish scientists, paving the way for new osteoporosis treatments. The debilitating condition causes fractures and spinal deformities in millions of people worldwide.
But boffins found that by “jiggling” stem cells in a lab they can coax them to turn into bone cells known as osteoblasts. The lab technique could revolutionise osteoporosis treatment, ending the need for invasive surgery.
The research has been carried out by scientists at the University of the West of Scotland and Glasgow University.
Professor Stuart Reid, of the University of the West of Scotland, said: “Our bodies