Transplantable hearts grown in petri dishes and the regeneration of amputated limbs were once the things of science fiction.
    But a major breakthrough brought those dreams closer to reality on Tuesday after researchers announced they were able to turn the clock back on skin cells and transform them into stem cells, the mutable building blocks of organs and tissues.
    “This is truly the Holy Grail: To be able to take a few cells from a patient — say a cheek swab or few skin cells — and turn them into stem cells in the laboratory,” Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology said.

“It’s bit like learning how to turn lead into gold.”
    While the research is still in its infancy, the potential benefits are “tremendous” said Lanza, who has already found ways to cut the death rate following heart attacks in half, restore blood to limbs which would otherwise have to be amputated and construct a functioning kidney using stem cells.