The Backup Files

By Bob Kievra TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF rkievra@telegram.com

Controversial, but in demand No, we’re not talking about Paris Hilton, but stem cells – master cells that can replicate and differentiate into other kinds of cells (unlike the Hollywood socialite with a growing history of bad behavior.)

Stem cells were the hot topic at an international biotech conference in Boston last week, with Gov. Deval Patrick unveiling a $1 billion program that would include the establishment of a $66 million stem cell bank at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

Just across the street from the medical school, scientists at Advanced Cell Technology Inc. last week said they have turned embryonic stem cells into repair cells that helped treat damaged eyes and generate new blood vessels in the limbs and hearts of animals.