Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned an injunction banning federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. To celebrate this victory for biomedical research, here is a striking image from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Flickr photo stream showing motor neuron progenitors (marked in green) derived from human embryonic stem cells. Researchers are currently exploring methods for using such neurons to treat spinal cord injuries or neurological disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The photo was taken by UC Irvine graduate student Sharyn Rossi at the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.
Previously: Image of the Week: Marfan syndrome embryonic stem cell colonies, Image of the Week: Dopaminergic neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells and Image of the Week: neural stem cells
