barbara
07-21-2009, 03:19 PM
Stem cells are formidable research tools. In the Reeve Foundation Research Consortium, scientist Fred H. Gage, Ph.D., is using human embryonic stem cells to grow working spinal circuits in a dish. In the body, these circuits transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles that control walking and other voluntary movements. In the dish, Dr. Gage can see what happens when the axons are cut and he can test drugs to see if they limit the damage to the axons.