Hochedlinger believes that iPS cells are just as promising for cell transplantation as ES cells, although many issues stand between the lab and the clinic. The differences between the two kinds of stem cell are minor compared with the differences in how individual cell lines grow and differentiate in culture, he says.

“Based on what we know at this time from mice,” he says, “iPS cells are as good as ES cells, and should be as safe.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on January 9, 2013.

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