Introduction to stem cells

    Stem Cells are amazing things. The can do many things including make a person recover faster from a major injury. They are a cell with the ability to divide for indefinite amounts of time and turn into a specialized type of cell. There are many types of stem cells.  A stem cell serves as an internal repair system; it lives within the tissue and repairs what gets damaged as long as the animal it is in is living. Stem Cells are distinguished by two characteristics, their ability to divide and transform into any type of cell, and their ability to be induced to become an organ cell with special functions. In the gut and in bone marrow, Stem Cells can divide, repair, or replace old worn out tissue, but in organs such as the heart and pancreas Stem Cells can only divide under special conditions. There are is much controversy regarding the field of stem cells. The Republicans say nay and the Democrats say yea.

    Stem Cells can be differentiated from other cells in the body by three simple characteristics; they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods, they are unspecialized, and they can give rise to specialized types of cells. Stem Cells proliferate unlike any other cell in the human body. The type of Stem Cells that proliferates in a lab for a long period of time and remains unspecialized are called long-term self-renewal cells. Scientists are trying to answer to questions regarding these cells: 1. Why can embryonic stem cells proliferate for a year or more in the laboratory without differentiating, but most non-embryonic stem cells cannot, 2. What are the factors in living organisms that normally regulate stem cell proliferation and self-renewal? Once we answer these questions we can more easily find a cure for cancer. Stem Cells are the key to the future of medicine.