article review -- What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cell research has been hailed for the potential to revolutionize the future of medicine with the ability to regenerate damaged and diseased organs. On the other hand, stem cell research has been highly controversial due to the ethical issues concerned with the culture and use of stem cells derived from human embryos. This article presents an overview of what stem cells are, what roles they play in normal processes such as development and cancer, and how stem cells could have the potential to treat incurable diseases. Ethical issues are not the subject of this review.¹

In addition to offering unprecedented hope in treating many debilitating diseases, stem cells have advanced our understanding of basic biological processes. This review looks at two major aspects of stem cells:

I. Three processes in which stem cells play a central role in an organism, development, repair of damaged tissue, and cancer resulting from stem cell division going awry.

II. Research and clinical applications of cultured stem cells: this includes the types of stem cells used, their characteristics, and the uses of stem cells in studying biological processes, drug development and stem cell therapy; heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson's disease are used as examples.

What are stem cells?