Human Skin Grown in the Lab ‘Can Replace Animal Testing’

April 25, 2014

(BBC) – Skin grown in the laboratory can replace animals in drug and cosmetics testing, UK scientists say. A team led by King’s College London has grown a layer of human skin from stem cells – the master cells of the body. Stem cells have been turned into skin before, but the researchers say this is more like real skin as it has a permeable barrier. It offers a cost-effective alternative to testing drugs and cosmetics on animals, they say.