A team of scientists led by Jakub Tolar, director of Consortium member the Stem Cell Institute, believes they've discovered a new therapy to help patients suffering from a devastating skin disease. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "A decade after performing the world’s first bone marrow transplants to treat epidermolysis bullosa (EB) — a rare and potentially fatal skin disease — university researchers believe they have discovered a 'powerhouse' new formula that . . . helps the body grow new skin and will allow patients such as [Jonathan] Pitre, 17, to live longer, less painful lives." EB can cause friction or even a minor bump to become a significant wound; it sometimes leads to severe infections and skin cancer. Over the past several months, Pitre has been treated at the U's Masonic Children's Hospital, undergoing radiation, chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants. Long-term research has helped doctors identify the most effective cell type for EB treatment — mesenchymal stem cells, are "uniquely good at bullying their way into the body and producing the missing collagen [that causes the disease]. 'This is the first time ever, that I know of, when you are infusing them with the goal that these cells will stay,' Tolar said. 'They will graft into the skin, set up shop there. It’s as if these mesenchymal stem cells are coming home.'"