One Small Step for Embryonic Stem Cells

One Small Step for Embryonic Stem Cells: Last week the Food and Drug Administration gave its first approval for a clinical trial of an embryonic stem cell treatment. The FDA had put the application from biopharmaceuticals company Geron Corp, which produced the cells, on clinical hold after some mice given the treatment developed tiny spinal cysts. But another animal study found no cysts. The testing will involve patients with recent spinal cord injuries, who will receive infusions of embryonic stem cells that have been differentiated into cells that can produce myelin, the coating that conducts electrical impulses in the spine.