Reprogrammed stem cells have made it possible to grow functional heart tissue in the laboratory, according to a study published on Tuesday in the magazine Nature Communications.

A team from the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, United States) used pluripotent induced stem cells (iPS), taken from adult human skin cells, and reprogrammed them to obtain precursors of the heart cells known as “MCPs”.

The cells that were created were able to replicate the structure of a rodent’s heart, according to the researchers.

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