Research Track: Gladstone scientists make beating cardiac cells inside the heart

Beating heart muscle can be converted quickly and efficiently from other cardiac cells by directly injecting three genes into areas damaged by a heart attack, according to researchers at the J. David Gladstone Institutes.
The research, published online Wednesday by the journal Nature, could transform the treatment of heart attacks since heart muscle doesn’t naturally regenerate. What’s more, the method could sidestep the use of stem cells to regenerate heart muscle, a field led by San Francisco-based Gladstone.