Patient-specific cells could be made without genetic manipulation.

Scientists have demonstrated a new way to reprogram adult tissue to become cells as versatile as embryonic stem cells — without the addition of extra genes that could increase the risk of dangerous mutations or cancer.
Researchers have been striving to achieve this since 2006, when the creation of so-called induced pluripotent (iPS) cells was first reported. Previously, they had managed to reduce the number of genes needed using small-molecule chemical compounds, but those attempts always required at least one gene, Oct4.
Now, writing in Science, researchers report success in creating iPS cells using chemical compounds only — what they call CiPS cells.

Turning human cells into stem cells without changing their genes could lead to therapies that do not carry a risk of generating mutations.

A baby has been born using in vitro fertilization aided by next-generation sequencing of embryos for genetic abnormalities.

Abnormalities in the DNA of embryos account for the two-thirds failure rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF)—a procedure where eggs are fertilized by sperm in a dish, then later implanted in the uterus. Genetic tests exist to screen for embryos with chromosomal or genetic defects prior to implantation, but the tests are expensive and have drawbacks. Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a relatively inexpensive next-generation sequencing technique that overcomes the limitations of previous tests, and has already been used in the IVF procedure that resulted in the birth of a baby boy in May. The research was reported Monday (July 8) at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in London.