Washington DC, March 16 -- Researchers devised a process to convert a skin cell directly into a neuron, eliminating the need to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. Such neurons could be used to treat spinal cord injuries or diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Converting one type of cell to another -- for example, a skin cell to a neuron -- can be done through a process that requires the skin cell to be induced into a "pluripotent" stem cell, and then differentiated into a neuron.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now devised a simplified process that bypasses the stem cell stage, converting a skin cell directly into a neuron.

Working with mouse cells, the researchers developed a ...