What are stem cells used for? Why are they important in science and medicine?
As mentioned before, stem cells are hot topics in scientific research today. The importance of stem cells lies in their amazing potential to become virtually any type of cell in our body. So, if someone has certain cells that don’t function properly or that have been damaged, then stem cells could be used to replace those damaged cells. This is not a new concept. In fact, stem cells have already been used for years in medicine. Have you ever heard of a bone marrow transplant? Did you know that this therapy for treatment of leukemia is completely dependent on the ability of multipotent adult stem cells to renew themselves and differentiate into white blood cells? When a person has leukemia (a blood related cancer), their white blood cells, called leukocytes, grow abnormally and cannot carry out their usual functions. The patient can’t fight off infection, and the abnormal cells also interfere with the proper functioning of other organs. The idea behind bone marrow transplants is to repl
