Scientists from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), while working alongside colleagues from Columbia University in a project put together by the Project A.L.S./Jenifer Estess Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, managed to prove that the pluripotent stem cells that are generated by patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can be turned into motor neurons. The breakthrough consists in the fact that motor neurons are actually the cells ALS destroys.

The new information is featured in the August 1 online issue of Science.

According to Valerie Estess, director of research for Project A.L.S., this was a "seminal discovery." She went on to say that the newly discovered procedure of deriving ALS motor neurons by simply performing a skin biopsy increases chances of finding better drugs. This would be the first time ever when scientists would be able to examine ALS cells under a microscope and determine the cause of their disintegration. She concluded by saying that once the reason for the neurons’ death is found, a solution for saving them will definitely be found as well.

Project A.L.S. was started back in 1999 and brought together the best active scientists and clinicians in order to reach a better understanding of ALS, which also goes by the name of Lou Gehrig's disease.

The study’s leader was Kevin Eggan, of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. The paper’s co-author, Christopher Henderson, co-director of the Columbia University Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, and also senior scientific advisor to the Project A.L.S. Laboratory, said working together with Kevin Eggan and his team, as well as getting this far with the research had been a privilege. Things can only go further from here on out, and reports of good news are expected in the near future.