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Cells derived from embryos appear to have improved vision in more than half of the 18 patients who had become legally blind because of two progressive, currently incurable eye diseases.

The lead author of a recent "breakthrough study" fabricated the data and is guilty of scientific misconduct, according to a Japanese research panel. The scientist says she will appeal the judgment.

The tiny organs created from stem cells aren't complete, but they act like regular livers when transplanted into mice, Japanese scientists say. Still, it will be years before the synthetic organs could help people with liver problems, even if further research all works out as hoped.

Since the 1970s, doctors around the world have reported cases in which young kids regrow fingertips if an accident leaves some of the fingernail. Now scientists have figured out how this lizard-like regeneration happens in mice and suspect the same mechanism works in young humans.

The news that scientists have successfully cloned a human embryo seems almost certain to rekindle a political fight that has raged, on and off, since the creation of Dolly the sheep. It's a fight that has, over the past decade and a half, produced a lot of heat and light and not a lot of policy.

After decades of trying, scientists say they've finally figured out how to make personalized embryonic stem cells. One day, these designer cells may help treat an array of diseases. A jolt of caffeine and and a little electric shock helped to do the trick.

The achievement is a long-sought step toward harnessing the potential power of such cells to treat diseases. But the discovery raises ethical concerns because it brings researchers closer to cloning humans.

A series of experiments published in the journal Nature Medicine suggest young adult women have primitive stem cells that could generate new eggs. The findings are generating both excitement and questions.

Despite raising millions of dollars for breast cancer research, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation hasn't funded any work involving human embryonic stem cells. Other big disease charities have also shied away from funding such science.

The Catholic Church invested $1 million to form a joint foundation with an adult stem cell research company, and its first project is a conference with scientists to discuss the future of stem cell therapies. Some in the scientific community believe the Vatican is trying to undercut embryonic stem cell research.