2011 News Highlights - Life Sciences

Stem cells, infectious diseases or genetic quirks are some of the subjects explored by students at the School of Life Sciences. Here is a selection of this year's headlines. FEBRUARY - Reprogrammed stem cells hit a roadblock Is there a future for stem cell therapies that don't use embryonic stem cells? An international study involving EPFL has raised doubts by showing that "reprogramming" adult stem cells leads to genetic aberrations. MARS - New evidence for innate knowledge Do we have innate knowledge? Neuroscientists from Henry Markram's team have discovered neurons making connections independently of a subject's experience. APRIL - Study finds indigenous cases of leprosy in the Southern United States Study confirms human contamination through with armadillos. OCTOBER - From whales to earthworms, the mechanism that gives shape to life Mice don't have tails on their backs, and their ribs don't grow from lumbar vertebrae. And for a good reason.