Key points from article :
In type 1 diabetes the immune system dismantles the pancreatic cells, known as beta cells, that normally produce insulin.
Can produce beta cells derived from donor human embryonic stem cells but are rejected.
Disguising them in alginate (a seaweed extract) allows sugar and insulin to flow between the cells and the body, but blocks immune cells.
Body eventually identifies material as a foreign substance, so MIT researchers tested 774 variations of alginate.
New alginate covered beta cells still working well 6 months after being transplanted into mice.
Next step is primate studies.
The studies were published in the Nature Biotechnology and Nature Medicine journals.
