Manhattan ? Kansas State University has been issued a patent for a type of stem cells obtained from a substance in the umbilical cord.

And the good news for the researchers is that the procedure isn’t controversial.

The university says in a news release that the patent addresses procedures to isolate, culture and bank stem cells from something called Wharton’s jelly. It’s a substance in the umbilical cord that cushions blood cells.

Professor of animal sciences and industry Duane Davis says that conservatively the jelly contains well over a million stem cells.

Kansas State researchers have explored numerous uses for the stem cells, including using them to repair the nervous system.

Another professor, Deryl Troyer, says they are “an excellent weapon” in cancer therapy.