Scientists are on track to rebuild hearts damaged by a heart attack.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., have found stem cells harvested from bone marrow can develop into heart muscle cells in animal studies. Stem cells, or immature cells, are found in many tissues such as bone, muscle and skin. They have the ability to develop into many different tissues to help rebuild damaged areas of the body. Researchers isolated stem cells from the bone marrow of male lab mice and injected them into female mice after they suffered a heart attack. Researchers found over the next 7 to 11 days, the cells began to multiply and develop into heart muscle cells around the damaged area of the heart.