1. What are stem cells?

‘What are stem cells?’ explains that a stem cell is a cell that can both reproduce itself and generate offspring of different functional cell types and begins by considering the nature of cells in general, wherein cells are understood to be the ultimate structural unit of an animal or plant body. Stem cells in the body persist long term, usually for the lifetime of the organism. Good examples of differentiated cells arising from stem cells are those of the skin, the blood, and the lining of the intestine. Embryonic stem cells are grown in culture from early mammalian embryos. The reason that stem cell research is seen as the source for new cures is largely because this technology offers a route to cell therapy.