Japanese researchers grow hormone glands from embryonic stem cells

[Felix]

The Mainichi Daily News
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111110p2a00m0na013000c.html

Japanese researchers have succeeded in growing a fully functional pituitary gland -- which produces many of the hormones vital to the body's operation -- using mouse embryonic stem cells.

The experiment by the research team from Nagoya University and the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe marks the world's first successful use of embryonic stem cells to create a hormone-producing organ, which have complex developmental processes.