With roughly 2,000 giant pandas remaining in the wild, scientists have spent the last several decades looking for new ways to help the iconic black-and-white bears stave off extinction. And now, it seems there may be more hope than ever before.
For the first time, scientists have taken ordinary skin cells from the animal and transformed them into stem cells, the team reports September 20 in Science Advances. Having this type of stem cell, which can be nudged into becoming any kind of cell in the body, could help researchers breed more giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and develop treatments for their diseases.
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