Amniotic fluid may hold 'ethical' stem cells 17:34 30 June 03 NewScientist.com news service Stem cells may be present in the amniotic fluid that cushions a baby in its mother's womb, suggests a new study. If these cells prove to have the power to differentiate into different tissue types, they may provide a solution to the ethical dilemma associated with using human embryonic stem cells (ESCs), say reproductive scientists. Markus Henstschläger and colleagues at the University of Vienna, Austria, found that some cells in the amniotic fluid taken from pregnant women during routine amniocentesis expressed a key protein called Oct-4....