Rethinking stem cell culture

Studying the earliest stages of human development depends on stem cell models that are both biologically faithful and technically practicable. In a new study published in EMBO Journal, PhD student Michael Oberhuemer (Leeb lab) reports a simpler way to culture human naïve pluripotent stem cells – without relying on mouse feeder cells. By replacing these animal-derived support cells with a serum-based substrate and validating the approach together with multiple European collaborators, the team delivers a scalable and developmentally accurate culture system that lowers the barriers to human stem cell research.