Skin grown in the laboratory can replace animals in drug and cosmetics testing, UK scientists say.
A team led by King’s College London has grown a layer of human skin from stem cells – the master cells of the body.
Stem cells have been turned into skin before, but the researchers say this is more like real skin as it has a permeable barrier.
It offers a cost-effective alternative to testing drugs and cosmetics on animals, they say.
The outermost layer of human skin, known as the epidermis, provides a protective barrier that stops moisture escaping and microbes entering.