> A common problem when you’re trying to transform a human stem cell into an insulin-producing beta cell — or a neuron or a heart cell —is that you also produce other cells that you don’t want
In my world this is called cancer. So yeah interesting how they're actually able to tell cells how to grow. But you don't want liver cells mixed into your pancreas, do you?
> But if a quarter of the cells you make are actually liver cells or other pancreas cells, instead of needing a billion cells, you’ll need 1.25 billion cells. It makes curing the disease 25% more difficult.
I'd assume the reason they try to get clean cultures is that otherwise they'd be implanting tumors. Optimizing by 25% sounds like something they'd do after having proven it on the human model.
In my world this is called cancer. So yeah interesting how they're actually able to tell cells how to grow. But you don't want liver cells mixed into your pancreas, do you?
> But if a quarter of the cells you make are actually liver cells or other pancreas cells, instead of needing a billion cells, you’ll need 1.25 billion cells. It makes curing the disease 25% more difficult.
I'd assume the reason they try to get clean cultures is that otherwise they'd be implanting tumors. Optimizing by 25% sounds like something they'd do after having proven it on the human model.