Another Secret Stem-Cell Breakthrough

Why is it a secret for the Post? Because it's not about embryonic stem cells. Via NRO, the Daily Mail reports British scientists grow human liver in a laboratory:

British scientists have grown the world's first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant.

The technique that created the 'mini-liver', currently the size of a one pence piece, will be developed to create a full-size functioning liver.

Described as a 'Eureka moment' by the Newcastle University researchers, the tissue was created from blood taken from babies' umbilical cords just a few minutes after birth.

Creating whole organs this way could be at least 15 years off, according to the story, but repairing smaller areas of damage might take place within just five. Not bad.

Let's see, the last two stem-cell stories I can find by the Post's Rick Weiss (or anybody) consisted of an embryonic technique to cure Parkinson's that created cancerous tumors and claims that embryonic cells had been extracted without destroying embryos that soon proved false.

If there's an A1 story over the same period about a significant advance in adult or cord-blood stem cell work, I'm not aware of it.