Stem Cells

Stem Cells

Before one can have an opinion about stem cells and stem cell research, one must at least know what defines them.   One would also need to know the history of stem cells and the different types of stem cells that exist.   Some people have religious objections to the research, while others have no stance. It seems that most people these days have a desire for more research into stem cells for the chance of medical advancement, regardless of cost or belief.   The fact is stem cells are the beginning of life—the very first cells formed in humans—but do they contain a soul? Do stem cells have simple human rights?   Stem cell research could hold the answers to curing hundreds of diseases or perhaps the treatments could cause even more problems like genetic mutations.   What are the secrets and horrors are contained in these little things we call stem cells? Do these cells contain the secrets that humankind has been stewing over for centuries? Come with me as I delve into the mysterious world of stem cells and we shall find some answers.
So what are these “stem cells” everyone is talking about?   Stem cells are found in almost all multi-cellular organisms on earth, for they are the basis for all life.   There are three common types of stem cells; totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent.   All stem cells start as totipotent, the most potent of all—they can turn into any cell in the human body.   Totipotent cells can also specialize into pluripotent and then to multipotent if needed.   Embryonic stem cells found in embryos in the blastocyst stage (4-5 days after fertilization) are pluripotent, meaning they can transform into most of the two hundred and twenty different cells in the human body.   What pluripotent cells cannot do is form into blood because only multipotent cells have the ability to create platelets, and the red or white blood cells.   They are truly amazing little things, and without them no life would exist.
Way back in 1908, Russian histologist...