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What are stem cells?
Stem cells are the body’s natural reservoir – replenishing stocks of specialized cells that have been used up or damaged. We all have stem cells at work inside us. Right now, inside your bone marrow, stem cells are busy making the 100,000 million new blood cells you need every single day!
We need to make new cells all the time, just to keep our body functioning. Some specialized cells, such as blood and muscle cells, are unable to make copies of themselves through cell division. Instead they are replenished from populations of stem cells.
Stem cells have the unique ability to produce both copies of themselves (self-renewal) and other more specialized cell types (differentiation) every time they divide. Stem cells, therefore, are essential to the maintenance of tissues such as blood, skin, and gut that undergo continuous turnover (cell replacement), and muscle, which can be built up according to the body's needs and is often damaged during physical exertion.
We need to make new cells all the time, just to keep our body functioning. Some specialized cells, such as blood and muscle cells, are unable to make copies of themselves through cell division. Instead they are replenished from populations of stem cells.
Stem cells have the unique ability to produce both copies of themselves (self-renewal) and other more specialized cell types (differentiation) every time they divide. Stem cells, therefore, are essential to the maintenance of tissues such as blood, skin, and gut that undergo continuous turnover (cell replacement), and muscle, which can be built up according to the body's needs and is often damaged during physical exertion.
What makes stem cells unique?
Stem cells are unspecialized. Unlike a red blood cell, which carries oxygen through the blood stream, or a muscle cell that works with other cells to produce movement, a stem cell does not have any specialized physiological properties.
Stem cells can divide and produce identical copies of themselves over and over again. This process is called self-renewal and continues throughout the life of the organism. Self-renewal is the defining property of stem cells. Specialized cells such as blood and muscle do not normally replicate themselves, which means that when they are seriously damaged by disease or injury, they cannot replace themselves.
Stem cells can also divide and produce more specialized cell types. This process is called differentiation. Stem cells from different tissues, and from different stages of development, vary in the number and types of cells that they can produce. According to the classical view, as an organism develops, the potential of a stem cell to produce any cell type in the body is gradually restricted.
Stem cells can divide and produce identical copies of themselves over and over again. This process is called self-renewal and continues throughout the life of the organism. Self-renewal is the defining property of stem cells. Specialized cells such as blood and muscle do not normally replicate themselves, which means that when they are seriously damaged by disease or injury, they cannot replace themselves.
Stem cells can also divide and produce more specialized cell types. This process is called differentiation. Stem cells from different tissues, and from different stages of development, vary in the number and types of cells that they can produce. According to the classical view, as an organism develops, the potential of a stem cell to produce any cell type in the body is gradually restricted.
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