© 2026 WGCU News
News for all of Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Stem Cell Lines Offer Clues to Inherited Disease

NPR | By Joe Palca,
Steve Inskeep
Published June 10, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Scientists in the United States and Israel have developed new embryonic stem cell lines that possess the genes for specific diseases. The lines could help broaden understanding of the roots of some inherited diseases. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Joe Palca.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
National News
Joe Palca
Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. He is currently focused on the eponymous series, "Joe's Big Idea." Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors. Palca is also the founder of NPR Scicommers – A science communication collective.
See stories by Joe Palca
Steve Inskeep
Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
See stories by Steve Inskeep
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Lee County School Board members discuss hiring a new board attorney.
    Education
    Lee school board to hire one attorney, and soon another
    Dayna Harpster
    Tuesday the school board is set to hire Robert Dodig, currently interim, as board attorney, soon to be followed by a chief staff attorney, a new position.
  • Australian pines may provide shade along the shoreline, but the invasive species also crowds out necessary native species, contributes to erosion, and is easier to topple than other trees in a storm.
    Environment
    Captiva residents urged to allow free removal of Australian pines, green iguanas
    Tom Bayles
    Captiva Island residents have been urged to allow free removal of Australian pines and green iguanas through a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
  • Environment
    Introduction to Spanish Moss
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    Spanish Moss is familiar to anyone who has visited Florida. It can appear anywhere as a result of the wind dispersing its seeds as it does the seeds of dandelions. But development of the draping clusters of Spanish Moss depends on the seed landing in the right place – on a horizontal limb of a rough-barked tree near water or in a very humid environment. Most Spanish Moss plants only grow to a bit over a foot long, but as they reproduce, one plant becomes many plants linked together by their limb-like scaly-surfaced leaves.There is safety and a future for the plants in such a mass. The cluster of plants holds moisture in – allowing them to survive dry times and also facilitating pollination as insects move from a flower on one plant to a flower on another in the cluster. A mass of Spanish Moss plants appears gray during dry times as the plant shrinks, but is green in appearance as rains allow the plant to swell with water and expose bare areas between the scales.