Israeli scientists have discovered a method for reprogramming human skin cells to become beating heart cells.
Professor Lior Gepstein of the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa came up with the method, which involves reconfiguring skin cells as stem cells, which can then take on the characteristics of functioning heart cells.
Gepstein's findings were published in the latest issue of the medical journal Circulation, and are being widely lauded as a major scientific breakthrough.
In addition to aiding research, Gepstein's method could eventually be used to easily repair damaged hearts.