Study Faults Lack of Diversity in Stem Cell Lines

The stem cell lines most commonly used by researchers are lacking in diversity, according to a study by University of Michigan professors that is being published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Michigan team analyzed 47 embryonic stem cell lines and found that most were derived from donors of northern and western European ancestry. None of the lines were from people of recent African ancestry, from Pacific Islanders, or from populations indigenous to the Americas, the researchers said.