Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and can divide to produce more stem cells. Stem cells can be used to repair damaged tissue and even grow into new organs. Even though Stem cells are used in come medical therapies, it is limited due to the highly complex web of genetic and environmental interactions based on which Stem cells can do either self-renewal or differentiation. Researchers are finding the way to determine the fate of any particular stem cell. A computational biologist at Microsoft Research in Cambridge has found a more deterministic, reliable method to do that. His method uses Microsoft’s Windows bug testing software which uses the technique called Formal Verification. Researchers have found they could use the software to predict with about 70 per cent accuracy how the cells would respond to genetic changes. They used a technique pioneered at Smith’s lab that uses cultures of various inhibitory proteins to keep embryonic stem cells continually renewing themselves rather than differentiating into other cells....
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