stem cellA cell found in foetuses, embryos and some adult tissues that can give rise to a wide range of other cells. have great potential for:
treating patients with currently untreatable conditions
growing organs for transplants
medical research
Stem cell research
Since stem cells have the ability to turn into various other types of cells they can be useful for treating and understanding disease.
Researchers can use stem cells in laboratories to test new drugs for safety and effectiveness before they are tested on humans.
They can also test how drugs might affect different organs such as the heart or the liver by programming stem cells to acquire properties of the organ the drugs are targeting.
They can also be used to understand how disease occurs by studying how stem cells turn into specific tissue such as heart muscles or nerves.