A Month in the Life of a Stem Cell Lab

May 10, 2017

(Undark Magazine) – Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to generate any human cell type and researchers have shown that they may be used to repair damaged tissues and organs in the body. But what looks good in the lab doesn’t always translate to the clinic. In laboratories around the world, thousands of scientists are trying to close the gap between promise and real-world therapies. For a month and a half, starting in January, I was embedded in the daily life of one such group of scientists — Douglas A. Melton’s laboratory at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. I watched their experiments, learned about the complex science of stem cells, and talked with the researchers about their work and hopes.