Scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind human stem cell that seems to be capable of repairing and healing damage anywhere in the body.

These so-called “smart” stem cells start off as human fat cells. But after being reprogrammed with cancer drugs that stripped the cells of their identity, they turned back into multipotent stem cells that were able to adapt to their surroundings in a mouse model, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.”

While these findings are very exciting, I will keep a lid on my excitement until we get this through to patients, Chandrakanthan said in the press release.