The result — the second such finding in the past year — suggests that similar
cells from human testicles might have similar
powers, paving the way to creating replacement tissue for men who have suffered damage from heart attacks or other injuries and avoiding some
of the controversy surrounding
embryonic stem cells (ESC).
In particular, opponents
of embryonic stem cell research have repeatedly pointed to the supposed
power of stem cells extracted from the adult body, which in the hands
of at least one laboratory seemed to nearly match that
of embryonic stem cells.