Alan looks into stem cell research with scientist John McDonald.

Stem cell research is one of today's most promising scientific fields, offering solutions to a wide range of ailments, including spinal cord injury. In, "Born Again Nerves," Alan visits a lab at Washington University in St. Louis where John McDonald is using stem cells to repair damaged nerves in rats.

Stem cells are the "blank slate" from which all other more specialized cells are derived. McDonald first treats these embryonic cells with a chemical to halt their development. Then he transplants the young cells to the site of a spinal cord injury where biochemical signals in the rat's body tell the cells how to develop. Over time, newly-formed nerve cells are able to heal the rat's once crippling injury.

Schwann cells can stimulate growth to damaged nerves.

Also featured is Mary Bunge, a researcher at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. A major problem with spinal cord injury is the inability of this region's nerves to heal themselves. So Bunge works with Schwann cells, self-repairing nerve cells normally found only in the body's arms and legs. After culturing Schwann cells, she uses them to literally bridge the gap in an severed spinal cord. Remarkably, the Schwann cells have been shown to stimulate the growth of healthy new cells at the injured site.

Both of these treatments for spinal cord injury are still a long way from human trials. But as scientists like McDonald and Bunge become increasingly adept at unlocking the body's potential, the closer that day becomes.

For more on this topic, see the web feature:
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