LONDON, Sept 15: Embryonic stem cell research moved a step forward this week as French scientists reported they had used master cells from mice to repair heart damage in sheep.

Researchers at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Montpellier, France, and the European Hospital Georges Pompidou in Paris transplanted mouse cells into nine sheep that had suffered a heart attack.

A month later the sheep had healthier hearts than a control group of animals that hadn’t received the cell transplant, the scientists said.

The finding strengthens the possibility the technique will be used one day to treat heart disease in humans. “As far as I know there has been no previous large animal study looking at the effects of stem cells in myocardial infarction (heart attack),” said Prof Philippe Menasche, a cardiac surgeon.—Reuters