What is a Stem cell?
Our body has many different kinds of cells, skill, muscle, blood cells. These are called specialized cells because, just like when choose our careers and begin to specialize into professions, these cells have decided their future paths. Stem cells are unspecialized cells, they can develop into any kind of cell. Stem cells remain unspecialized until a signal from the body tells them to turn into specific cells like a heart, nerve, or skin cell. Stem cells can become one of more than 200 specialized cells in the body. So they can keep becoming different kinds of specialized cells.
What classes of stem cells are there?
There are three classes of stem cells: totipotent, multipotent, and pluripotent.
• Totipotent: stem cell that has the potential to become any cell in the body.
• Pluripotent: stem cells can become any cell except those needed to develop a fetus.
• Multipotent. stem cells that have alread started to specialize a little, so they can only become a small number of different cell types
Where do stem cells come from?
Pluripotent stem cells are found in the human embryo after approximately five days of development. Cells from embryos can be used to create pluripotent stem cell "lines". Multipotent, mature stem cells, are found in many areas of the body including bone marrow, blood stream, cornea and retina of the eye, parts of your teeth, liver, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and pancreas.
Why do scientists want to use stem cell lines?
Once a stem cell line is made from a cell in the body, it is immortal, so it can keep on dividing and specializing into new cells forever. This means that scientists can use the lines for transplantation (i.e. transplant stem cells that will become liver cells into a diseased liver) or treat diseases.
-Wendy Zukerman
Our body has many different kinds of cells, skill, muscle, blood cells. These are called specialized cells because, just like when choose our careers and begin to specialize into professions, these cells have decided their future paths. Stem cells are unspecialized cells, they can develop into any kind of cell. Stem cells remain unspecialized until a signal from the body tells them to turn into specific cells like a heart, nerve, or skin cell. Stem cells can become one of more than 200 specialized cells in the body. So they can keep becoming different kinds of specialized cells.
What classes of stem cells are there?
There are three classes of stem cells: totipotent, multipotent, and pluripotent.
• Totipotent: stem cell that has the potential to become any cell in the body.
• Pluripotent: stem cells can become any cell except those needed to develop a fetus.
• Multipotent. stem cells that have alread started to specialize a little, so they can only become a small number of different cell types
Where do stem cells come from?
Pluripotent stem cells are found in the human embryo after approximately five days of development. Cells from embryos can be used to create pluripotent stem cell "lines". Multipotent, mature stem cells, are found in many areas of the body including bone marrow, blood stream, cornea and retina of the eye, parts of your teeth, liver, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and pancreas.
Why do scientists want to use stem cell lines?
Once a stem cell line is made from a cell in the body, it is immortal, so it can keep on dividing and specializing into new cells forever. This means that scientists can use the lines for transplantation (i.e. transplant stem cells that will become liver cells into a diseased liver) or treat diseases.
-Wendy Zukerman
Posts
There is a group of physicians, patients and other interested people working together to get treatment with adult stem cells legalized in the U.S. as it should be. Please ask your family and friends to sign up ("JOIN"), and get as many doctors to sign up as well. Please see The American Stem Cell Therapy Association site
ReplyDeletewww.stemcelldocs.org