First stem cells discovered to produce placenta cells

An international study led by researchers at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) and Duke-NUS (Singapore) has reported the discovery of novel stem cells that can produce placenta cells. This world-first discovery may open a new avenue of therapy for placenta complications during pregnancy. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be derived from human skin cells and are used to develop a seemingly unlimited source of any type of cell for therapeutic purposes. However, not much is known about how iPSCs are made. In their research, published in the journal Nature, the team initially set out to examine the molecular changes taking...