Stem cells
Able to replace damaged cells, stem cells are of great medical importance. Yet, controversy exists on the methods and techniques used in their development.
Stem cells are master cells of the human body capable of making copies of themselves, or producing other specialised cell types.
Very early embryos contain stem cells which slowly specialise to produce all body cells. Today adult cells can also be reprogrammed in the laboratory to return to an embryonic-like state and are used to make all kinds of specialised cells.
Page created: 21/02/2011
Page last updated: 18/07/2011