stemceller's Journal: Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

University of California, San Francisco scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells. The scientists developed an alternative to this genetically engineered "switch" technique. They developed serum-free conditions in the cell culture dish that both promoted more successful reprogramming and generated embryonic stem cells that could be detected based on their form and structure, alone.