Researchers in Singapore have made a research discovery that allows them to easily generate more umbilical cord stem cells for repairing human skin. The research was performed by Cellresearch Corp, a Singapore-based biotechnology company worth more than $700 million.
The research was carried out by the company’s co-founder Dr Thang, a graduate of the Military Medical University in Singapore. Dr Thang has spent much of career researching burns and how to treat them. He began his career at the National Burn Institute of Vietnam and later worked with burns specialists in London while studying at Oxford University.
Dr Thang realised that existing technologies for growing skin cells were very slow and expensive, so he began working with stem cells. Cellresearch Corp has been working on a number of treatments for repairing burns and scarring on human skin.
Cellresearch began by using embryonic stem cells for some research projects but has moved on to using umbilical cord stem cells — a non-controversial source of stem cells. Umbilical cord stem cells have been in use for decades and can treat a wide variety of conditions including metabolic disorders and some forms of cancer.
Dr Thang became interested in the umbilical cord when he realised it provided a very clean source of stem cells with little red blood cell contamination. His plan was to keep the tissue in the umbilical cord alive so it could continue producing uncontaminated stem cells. The researchers developed a solution of sugars and proteins to keep the umbilical cord stem cells alive.
The umbilical cord was previously considered medical waste and discarded shortly after birth. Thanks to researchers like Dr Thang, doctors now realise how important umbilical cord blood stem cells are and suggest parents should preserve their child’s umbilical cord.
Dr Thang’s discovery means that umbilical cords can be used to generate massive numbers of stem cells and are turned into very powerful sources of stem cells.
Source: VN doctor: birthing new skin with umbilical cord stem cells
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