Biotechnology

A paralysed man can stand on his own after receiving an injection of neural stem cells to treat his spinal cord injury. The Japanese man was one of four individuals in a first-of-its-kind trial that used reprogrammed stem cells to treat people who are fully paralysed.

Another man can now move his arms and legs following the treatment, but the two others did not show substantial improvements. The trial was run by Hideyuki Okano, a stem-cell scientist at Keio University in Tokyo, and his colleagues.