Implanted stem cells survive 16 months

WORCESTER, Mass., June 29 (UPI) -- Fetal stem cells cloned from old cows survived 13 to 16 months and multiplied 10 times as fast as adult stem cells, Massachusetts researchers said Wednesday.

The study by Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Mass., transferred the nucleus of adult cow stem cells to produce cloned fetuses, from which liver-produced blood stem cells were implanted in the adult animals.

The implanted stem cells survived and multiplied during the next 13 to 16 months and showed a tenfold competitive advantage over adult cow stem cells, researchers said in reporting their work in the peer-reviewed journal, Cloning and Stem Cells.

"This study demonstrates that it will be possible to use cloning to derive replacement cells that are immunologically matched to the patient," said Ian Wilmut, the journal's editor in chief and an official with the Midlothian, Scotland-based Roslin Institute.