Biology 1610
Biology Paper Stem cells are simply the creation or repair of another life form from an earlier form. Stem cells have the chance to change all that we know in the medical field as well as the potential to heal old wounds and heal damaged organs. Stem cells have the ability to develop into bone, muscle, cartilage, or other types of cells. The ability of these cells to develop into almost any cell type could allow for the repair of any damaged or deteriorating tissue, thus they could be used in regenerative medicine. Research on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This promising area of science is also leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is often referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine. Research on the topic of stem cells is advancing the scientific knowledge about how cells develop. Stem cell research is applied to two main characteristics that allow stem cells to be distinguished among most other types of cells. The first major characteristic is that the stem cells are unspecialized and can renew themselves through cell divisions for longer durations of time. Secondly, the cells can be manipulated under certain conditions to become any cell that the scientist encodes them with; liver cell or even a heart cell. I found in very interesting that upon reading the Science Daily news article, "Saving the Snow Leopard with Stem Cells. It was fascinating that thanks to scientists working at Monash University, there is a chance that to ensure the survival of the endangered animal that is the snow leopard. Never before has induced pluripotent stem