How can SCNT be used to make stem cells?
The specialized cells that make up our bodies such as heart, muscle, skin and nerve cells are called somatic cells. To make stem cells using the SCNT process, medical researchers will take the nucleus from a patient’s somatic cell, like a skin cell, and transfer it into a donated, unfertilized egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed. The nucleus in the patient’s cell contains the patient’s DNA, or genetic material, which is unique to every person. The “nuclear transfer” process essentially reprograms the nucleus from the patient’s cell and causes it to produce unspecialized ES cells in a lab dish.
