In the 21st century, scientists have believed to uncover the key towards human immortality. Stem cells could possibly one day, improve the lives of every person in the world by eliminating certain diseases, provide alternate organs for the disabled and could also slow down aging. "Stem cells are undifferentiated, cells with the ability both to multiply and to differentiate into any of the body's 130 different tissue types."( Johnson, K) These cells are not visible to the naked eye, and can only be viewed by being stained with a fluorescent dye and seen under a magnification anywhere from twenty to forty times. These tiny cells resemble minuscule soap bubbles bunched together in a colony. Their looks may be deceiving, for the reason that stem cells are in fact one of the most fascinating areas of biology today. Nevertheless, like many expanding scientific fields, as more knowledge is gained, more inquiries are evident and more controversial issues become present. This conundrum has become apparent in stem cell research. (Donor, P) .
Properties of a stem cell.
Stem cells are different from all somatic and reproductive cells in a human's body. All stem cells have three distinct properties which separate them from the somatic and reproductive body cells. They are able to divide and renew themselves for extended periods, they are unspecialized, and can give rise to specialized cell types. Having the property of being unspecialized, this ensures that the stem cells do not have any tissue specific structures which complete particular functions. Being able to divide and renew themselves for extended periods, allows all unspecialized cells to replicate many times. The cells are said to proliferate when they replicate themselves several times over. Stem cells can proliferate for months and produce millions of unspecialized cells. These unspecialized cells become congruent or similar to those of the specialized cells to perform a needed task.
