What in the World are Stem Cells

Here is a short, but maybe too technical overview of stem cells.  You might finding it boring, but honestly the more informed we are the better.  So make it a light read if you must, but there is a lot of exciting news out there about adult stem cells that you might want to keep you ear open for.

Growth Cycle of Stem Cells

Stem cell research has been seeing a large increase recently. This is because of the medical implications involved in the potentials of stem cells. The most basic explanation for stem cells would be that stem cells are perfectly self replicating cells which hold the potential to become any other type of cell within a human body.

Stem cells, therefore, are like a pool of unformed building blocks that our bodies hold in reserve for times when our physiological needs demand an increase in a certain type of cell — say, the need for more muscle tissue or white blood cells. When the body needs an influx of these additional cells, the stem cells of the body then evolve into these necessary cell types.

From a medical standpoint, the potentials of cultured stem cells are astounding. A person may  actually be allowed to regrow a limb or an internal organ using stem cells, as well as to get a completely clean blood stream via an infusion of fresh blood cells created from stem cells.

On an even more advanced note, stem cells are perfectly self-replicating in nature, meaning that  unlike other normal cells which suffer some degree of genetic degradation when they replicate, stem cells remain the same no matter the number of times they replicate. The process of aging comes from the natural degradation of the body's other cells through repeated replication, as well as a decrease in the body's number of overall stem cells to replace lost cells. It is believed that infusions of stem cells may actually retard or even completely halt a person's aging process.

Whatever the case may be, research into this field involves analysis of the four different types of stem cells. Two of these are classified as embryonic, meaning that they occur only in unformed fetuses, while the other two types of stem cells occur only in developed adults.

The four types of stem cells, according to their place in the growth cycle, are as follows:

Totipotent Stem Cells - these are the first few cells created after the initial meeting of sperm and egg cell. These cells have the highest development potential, as they mature into embryonic and extraembryonic cells within the womb, essentially forming both the actual fetus and the surrounding membrane and placenta within the womb that houses the fetus.

Pluripotent Stem Cells - these are the totipotent stem cells which have evolved specifically to form the actual body parts of the growing fetus. Each pluripotent stem cell carries within it the potential to become any end every body part of the developing fetus. Those medical researchers and scientists who specialize in the study of embryonic as opposed to adult stem cells often focus their studies on this type of cell. These are the most stable stem cells and also have the
most potential to become literally anything in a human body.

Multipotent Stem Cells - once a fetus is fully formed and born, his or her body will no longer have pluripotent stem cells in great number. Most of the person's stem cells will now have evolved into multipotent stem cells. These stem cells are still raw material that can evolve into different body cells, but multipotent stem cells are usually categorized by purpose, and can only evolve now into certain specialized types of cells. For example, some of these cells can become bone marrow and red or white blood cells. Others can become any type of nerve or synapse. Still others can form muscle tissue and bone. Scientists who study adult stem cells as opposed to embryonic ones usually focus their studies on this type. They retain the stability of pluripotent cells but are more limited in the scope of what they can actually evolve into.

Unipotent Stem Cells - the final evolution of stem cells are unipotent stem cells. These cannot  evolve into anything, and simply replicate to make simple copies of themselves. However, unlike regular cells, they do not suffer from degradation due to repeated self replication. However, while they can no longer evolve into another type of cell, these cells have the ability to actually produce another type of cell for the body. For example, there are unipotent stem cells
which create increased numbers of white blood cells to combat infection, and others which generate more skin and muscle tissue to heal wounds. It is believed that these cells hold the secret to slowing down aging, as a gradual decrease in the body's overall number of unipotent cells and the resultant other cells they produce for the body is what causes aging.

These four stages form the natural life cycle of a stem cell, and it is believed that by understanding each one and their effects on the development of the human body, great advances in medicine may be achieved. Currently, more focus is being diverted to research for adult stem cells, as the research of embryonic stem cells involves harvesting these cells from unborn fetuses.

We all have adult stem cells and or own bone marrow releases them everyday.  Getting a good night sleep is one of the best wayt to help your bone marrow deliver more adult stem cells to your body.  Now, there exists a patented stem cell nutritional product with a triple blind study to back it.

Don't just think the stem cell debate is a phase, it isn't.  As much as I have not wanted to pay much attention to it, I am now.  Stem cells can save your life,  help regenerate your body and the "discovery" of their existence is really a wonderful one in the end.  Lets hope that they are not misused.