Controlling Neural Stem Cells

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Via ScienceDaily, continued progress in instructing our cells to do the right thing: "In recent years, stem cell researchers have become very adept at manipulating the fate of adult stem cells cultured in the lab. Now, [researchers] achieved the same feat with adult neural stem cells still in place in the brain. They successfully coaxed mouse brain stem cells bound to join the neuronal network to differentiate into support cells instead. ... It was quite surprising that stem cells in the adult brain maintain their fate plasticity and that a single gene was enough to reprogram these cells. We can now potentially tailor the fate of stem cells to treat certain conditions such as multiple sclerosis. ... The discovery [not] only attests to the versatility of neural stem cells but also opens up new directions for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy that not only affect neuronal cells but also disrupt the functioning of glial support cells."

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080630093621.htm