Stem cells are primal cells found in all multi-cellular organisms.

They retain the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and can differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types.

The three broad categories of mammalian stem cells are: embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts, adult stem cells, which are found in adult tissues, and cord blood stem cells, which are found in the umbilical cord.

In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues.

In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells. As stem cells can be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture, their use in medical therapies has been proposed.

In particular, embryonic cell lines, autologous embryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning, and highly plastic adult stem cells from the umbilical cord blood or bone marrow are touted as promising candidates. Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to change radically the treatment of human disease.

A number of adult stem cell therapies already exist, particularly bone marrow transplants that are used to treat leukemia.

For more information about the topic Stem cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Embryonic stem cell — Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are stem cells derived from the undifferentiated inner mass cells of a human embryo. Embryonic stem cells are ...  > read more

Somatic cell — A somatic cell is generally taken to mean any cell forming the body of an organism. Somatic cells, by definition, are not germline cells. In mammals, ...  > read more

Stem cell treatments — Medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering. A number of ...  > read more

Adult stem cell — Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known ...  > read more

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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