What Are Stem Cells?

The unique properties of stem cells are that they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for a long time. This means they can multiply as many times as they want and grow into lots of different types of cells. They are also under certain physiologic and experimental conditions. They can produce tissue or organ-pacific cells with special functions. There are three classifications of stem cells. There are Totipotent, Pluripotent and Multipotent. Each one of these classifies stem cells in a certain way. Totipotent cells can change into all cells types, Pluripotent cells can change into most cell types and Multipotent cells can change into certain cell types. There are two major types of stem cells, Embryonic and Adult. Although they are both major types of stem cells they are very different from each other. Embryonic stem cells can change into all types of cells and Adult stem cells can change only into certain types of cells. Embryonic stem cells are classified as Totipotent and Pluripotent. Adult stem cells are classified as Multipotent. Another reason why Embryonic and Adult stem cells are different is because they have

Many of us have all heard the saying that a “lizard can lose its tail,” and bizarrely enough it will grow back. This was always considered impossible for humans, an idea belonging in the realm of science fiction, but now the regeneration of tissue is an extremely realistic possibility. Despite some opinions, this process does not happen naturally, or take place as cinematically as one might imagine. Over the past decade, there have been major advances in regenerative medicine, commonly known as stem cell research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells within the body that have the capability to specialize into any tissue. They are most commonly found in cord blood, bone marrow, organ donations, placenta, and embryos . Stem cells are seen by some as a new miracle treatment, encouraging many countries to invest in their research.

"Embryonic stem cells are special because they are the only cells that can make all parts of the body,” said Douglas Melton, in an interactive videoconference available at athome.harvard.edu. The conference was hosted in New York and broadcasted to Cambridge, Washington D.C., and Naples, Florida on March 2, 2004. "Embryonic stem cells can do everything. So if you want to work on replenishing tissues, that’s where you go."

Tissue specific stem cells can create different cells for different organs and are obtained from different organs and tissues. Embryonic stem cells can increase every cell type in an adult body and are obtained from the blastocyst, a ball of cells formed a couple of days after an egg cell is fertilized. Mesenchymal stem cells are typically obtained from bone marrow and can produce bone and fat cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells are made in a science lab by changing tissue specific cells into embryonic cells and they help scientists research normal development.

These cells can grow into many things such as organs, tissues, muscles, or blood. These cells are able to renew themselves through cell division. One of the most unique aspects to these cells are they are able to replenish and repair themselves as long as the person is alive. This can be seen most commonly in red cells of the bone marrow. These cells are continuously repairing and replacing damaged and old cells. Because of stem cells unique ability to renew themselves into new cells, scientist have shown great interest in these cells. Stem cells that are being studied most by scientist are embryotic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem

Stem cell research is the future of medical and biological research and remedies, and it is fascinating to watch the progression of this new and important science as it unfolds. These cells were discovered in mouse embryos in the 1980s, and are remarkable because of their potential to grow into a variety of different kinds of cells within a body. Common in fetuses, and more rare in adult animals of all kinds, stem cells can be manipulated in useful ways to repair many tissues, dividing limitlessly for therapeutic purposes. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or to differentiate into more specialized tissue, such as nerve, pancreas, bone marrow, or unique blood components. Initially

Researchers successfully attained embryonic stem cells from the embryos of mice in 1981, which led to the discovery of this process in human beings in 1998 (National Institutes of Health, 2001). Embryonic stem cells are derived from an in vitro embryo between five days and seven weeks. Regenerative medicine can benefit greatly from the characteristics of embryonic stem cells. This process enables damaged organs and tissues to heal themselves with the help of implanted stem cells matching the organ (Hunziker, 2010, p. 1). There are two traits

Stem cells are cells which can essentially form into any type of cell that can be found in the body. There are various types of stem cells. These include embryonic, adult, genetically reprogrammed adult stem cells, and perinatal stem cells. The most versatile, as well as controversial, type of stem cells are embryonic stem cells. These cells are found in 3-5 day old embryos which are formed through in vitro fertilization ("Stem Cell Basics" 1). While scientists have been able to reprogram adult stem cells to act as if they were embryonic, there is yet to be any conclusive evidence as to how the use of the altered cells will affect humans ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do" 1). The use of stem cells is largely focused on regenerative medicine which takes advantage of the stem cells versatility to create and replace damaged tissues in

When the topic of stem cell research, and/ or treatment, people generally automatically jump to the conclusion of embryonic stem cells, when in retrospect according to Eurostemcell.org, an organization based website that is dedicated to supplying the public with the latest news and information on stem cells. According to the article there a few different types of stem cells. The first type of stem cell is, embryonic. Embryonic stem cells are grown in a laboratory from embryos cells at an early stage. The second type of stem cell is tissue stem cells. Tissue stem cells are found in all different parts of the body. Lastly the third type of stem cell is, Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS), or 'reprogrammed' stem cells. IPSC are similar to embryonic stem cells but they are from adult specialized cells.

It is too early to have a direct answer at the moment since this is a new idea but there are several scientists conducting research with these mesenchymal stem cells, and are even attempting to improve on how they are applied. In a study by the Bio Med Research International, they focused on hosting these stem cells on RKKP glass coated titanium (Ledda). They chose titanium specifically due to how often titanium is used for implants and they aim to find a way to transfer the implant while fixing any damaged tissue in the process. In previous attempts to utilize stem cells, the cells themselves are often put into a buffer solution and then injected (Ledda). In this study, however, they used a different approach, “due to the limited survival of stem cells suspended in a buffer, the engraftment rate may be improved by using a supporting matrix such as a scaffold or a hydrogel” (as cited in

There are two main types of human stem cells—embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells (“Stem Cell Basics,”

“Through the isolation and manipulation of cells, scientists are finding ways to identify young, regenerating ones that can be used to replace damaged of dead cells in diseased organs. This therapy is similar to the process of organ transplant, only the treatment consists of the transplantation of cells rather than organs. The cells that have shown by far the most promise of supplying diseased organs with healthy cells are called stem cells.” (Chapter Preface)

This means that adult stem cells exist in small groups and are mostly undifferentiated, meaning the cells have the capability to change into one or more cell types over time. While adult stem cells can be pushed to differentiate into different cell types, they cannot become every cell type in the body. This results in the adult stem cell offspring only being able to develop into only cell types related to the tissue of origin. For example, neuronal stem cells may develop into nerve cells of the brain or spinal cord, but not into cells of other organs, such as the liver. Adult stem cells are also capable of homing to specific environments in the body and regenerating functional tissue after injury.14 These additional functions of adult stem cells make them ideal candidates for therapeutic stem cell medicine because they are able to be used in specific patients to help rebuild damaged tissue, providing the patient with a better quality of life.

Tooth regeneration is logically the ultimate dental treatment because humans only have two sets of teeth: the deciduous and permanent teeth. Extracted molars and baby teeth, which are routinely discarded everyday can have the potential to be used as a future medical treatment. Dental stem cells are among the more convenient cells to access and can provide a significant medical benefit, and a way to ensure a lifetime of permanent teeth. Regenerative dentistry is an emerging field likely to yield successful results with patients’ cells being banked for future use. Currently, the major challenges in whole tooth regeneration are to identify non-embryonic sources of cells with the same properties as tooth germ cells and to develop culture systems

Stem cells are cells that have the capabilities to develop into many different types of cells in the body. Serving as a type of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to take over for other cells for