Portal:Medicine/Selected article/44, 2006

Stem cells in humans are primal undifferentiated cells that retain the ability to produce an identical copy of themselves when they divide (clone) and differentiate into other cell types. In higher animals this function is the defining property of the deleted cells. Stem cells have the ability to act as a repair system for the body, because they can divide and differentiate, replenishing other cells as long as the host organism is alive.

Medical researchers believe stem cell research has the potential to change the face of human disease by being used to repair specific tissues or to grow organs. Yet there is general agreement that, "significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research.". Current evidence indicates that some stem cells are involved in assisting cancer's proliferation, or worse yet, some stem cells act as cancer stem cells (CSC). (More...)