On April 1st 2016, it was announced in the journal Science Advances, that researchers have successfully grown skin in the lab. Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan say that using the stem cells of mice, they've been able to build artificial skin that has hair follicles and sweat glands.
Takashi Tsuji, leader of the research team said, "Up until now, artificial skin development has been hampered by the fact that the skin lacked the important organs, such as hair follicles and exocrine glands, which allow the skin to play its role in regulation. He said that the skin was made by extracting cells from the gums of mice. These cells were then converted into a specialized type of stem cell.
Those cells were genetically modified to glow florescent green for easy identification, and were then transplanted into hairless mice, which caused them to grow into complex skin. Next, the researchers took that skin and implanted it into other mice. From there the tissue successfully connected it self to nerves and muscles. The skin not only had the important glands, but it also had the three layers that normal skin should have.
Takashi and his team feel that they are at least five to ten years away from reproducing this same procedure in humans. They also believe that their procedure could revolutionize skin grafts, which currently use skin from other parts of the body
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