Stem Cells May be More Genomically Stable Than Believed

Cell mosaicism—genetic variations between individual cells of a particular type—may account for genomic “instability” observed in induced pluripotent stem cell lines. Researchers led by Mark Gerstein and Flora M. Vaccarino sequenced the complete genomes of stem cells derived from fibroblasts, and found significant copy number variations (CNVs), which are unique genetic variants harbored in DNA. Consequently, these results beg the question of how diverse our own, individual cells are.

News link: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-insight-subtle-genomic-differences-cells.html