Taking their cue from salamander regeneration, a team led by the University of New South Wales says that a stem cell therapy capable of regenerating any human tissue damaged by injury, disease, or aging could be available within a few years, thanks to an innovative new technique.

While stem cells have worked wonders in medicinal research, showing signs of curing everything from spinal cord injuries to blindness, they’ve always had their shortcomings. But one study is promising a new “game changing” technique for stem cells.

Taking their cue from salamander regeneration, new research led by the University of New South Wales says that a stem cell therapy capable of regenerating any human tissue damaged by injury, disease, or aging could be available within a few years, through an innovative new technique.

The technique involves reprogramming bone and fat cells into “induced multipotent stem cells” (iMS). These cells are special in that they can regenerate multiple tissue types.

There are two kinds of stem cells: embryonic stem cells that during embryonic development generate every type of cell in the human body, and adult stem cells that are tissue-specific, and unable to regenerate multiple tissue types. Embryonic stem cells would be preferable, save that they are prone to form teratomas (tumors composed of different tissue types), and their use is highly controversial.

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