Directly converting skin cells to brain cells yields 1,000% success
Published in Biology, Brain/Neurology.
Scientists have managed to convert mouse skin cells directly into motor neurons, skipping the usual step of stem cells in between.
In a potentially major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, scientists at MIT have developed a way to convert skin cells directly into brain cells extremely efficiently, without needing to go through the intermediate step of converting them to stem cells first.
Cooking up a batch of stem cells to treat illness or injury used to involve the ethically hairy practice of harvesting them from embryonic tissue. But in 2006, Japanese scientists identified a way to revert mature cells back into stem cells. From there, these induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be coaxed to become whatever cell type is needed for a specific treatment.
https://newatlas.com/biology/direct-convert-skin-brain-stem-cells-neuron/