Mutation Alert Halts Stem-Cell Trial to Cure Blindness

August 3, 2015

(New Scientist) – A pioneering stem-cell trial has been halted after genetic mutations were discovered in the cells of the second trial participant. One of the mutations may carry a remote risk of cancer.The trial is the first to explore whether a type of stem cell known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat disease. These are made by taking cells from a patient’s skin and “rewinding” them to a premature stem-cell state using a cocktail of growth factors.