Adult Stem Cell
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek Σωματικóς, meaning of the body), they can be found in juvenile as well as adult animals and human bodies.
Scientific interest in adult stem cells is centered on their ability to divide or self-renew indefinitely, and generate all the cell types of the organ from which they originate, potentially regenerating the entire organ from a few cells. Unlike embryonic stem cells, the use of adult stem cells in research and therapy is not considered to be controversial, as they are derived from adult tissue samples rather than destroyed human embryos. They have mainly been studied in humans and model organisms such as mice and rats.
Read more about Adult Stem Cell: Adult Stem Cell Therapies, Adult Stem Cells and Cancer, Most Recent Research Presented By NIH, News and External Links
Famous quotes containing the words adult, stem and/or cell:
“[Children] do not yet lie to themselves and therefore have not entered upon that important tacit agreement which marks admission into the adult world, to wit, that I will respect your lies if you will agree to let mine alone. That unwritten contract is one of the clear dividing lines between the world of childhood and the world of adulthood.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)
“The lotus’ stem is as long as the depth of water,
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—Tiruvalluvar (c. 5th century A.D.)
“Why inspire in us a horror of our being?... To look upon the universe as a prison cell and all men as criminals about to be executed is the idea of a fanatic.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)