WHY STEM CELLS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE HOW DO STEM CELLS KNOW WHAT TO BECOME

Stem cells maintain a built in variability that nature can harness for change under the right conditions

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Stem cell breakthrough! Stem cell controversy! Stem cells are cells that can turn into any cell in the body. You may be surprised to hear that stem cells have been used to replace tissue in the body for many years. Bone marrow stem cells are used to treat leukemia,for example. The problem is that the bone marrow cells pretty much form only blood tissues. Why are stem cells so important and the potential to cure disease so great? Some people swear by stem cells others swear at them. But what are stem cells? Why are they so important and controversial? Are there different types of stem cells? And what kinds of things are researchers hoping to learn about by doing “stem cell research”? If we understood how stem cells are guided to become part of the brain, the eye, the arm then perhaps we would be able to "tell the stem cells" what to become and so create or replace damage.





But "how does a stem cell decide what specialized identity to adopt or simply to remain a stem cell? That's the 64 million dollar question! A new study suggests that the conventional view, which assumes that cells are "instructed" to progress along prescribed signaling pathways, is too simplistic. Instead, it supports the idea that cells differentiate through the collective behavior of multiple genes in a network that ultimately leads to just a few endpoints--just as a marble on a hilltop can travel a nearly infinite number of downward paths, only to arrive in the same valley"".



The findings, published in the May 22, 2008 issue of Nature, give a glimpse into how that collective behavior works, and show that stem cell populations maintain a built-in variability that nature can harness for change under the right conditions. The findings also help explain why the process of differentiating stem cells into specific lineages in the laboratory has been highly inefficient".

What are Stem Cells Why Stem cells Will Change Your Life

Many Paths Few Destinations How Stem Cells Decide What They'll Be