The setbacks in harvesting stem cells apparently did not deter the New York Stem Cell Foundation researchers, who have now fallen back on the fundamentals for generating patient-derived embryonic stem cells by bettering the original method of using oocytes – that is, unfertilized human eggs!

According to a report published in the Wednesday edition of journal Nature, researchers at the New York Stem Cell Foundation Laboratory have revealed that it was during a control experiment that they, by a lucky chance, left the nucleus of an oocyte in place while implanting an adult nucleus.

Later, they observed that oocyte nucleus’ presence had led to a further-than-normal development of the embryos with an inserted adult cell nucleus --- the progression actually reached the blastocyst stage, which marks the point at which the harvesting of the embryonic stem cells is possible. In other words, the implanting of the blastocyst in a uterus can facilitate the cloning of the donor.

However, the researchers - led by Scott Noggle and Dieter Egli – have acknowledged that the process is not efficient enough for therapeutic use; and that the triploid blastocysts that have been produced in the laboratory are unstable and could never be injected into patients.

Despite the fact that Noggle has stated that the triploid cells are “not therapeutically relevant at the moment,” stem cell expert Dr. George Q. Daley – from Children’s Hospital Boston – said that the research, nonetheless, “stands as a steppingstone toward success”!