What are stem cells? - review paper

Abstract

Modern medicine has moved by leaps and bounds throughout recent years to literally make science fiction part of our day-to-day reality. Undoubtedly one of the biggest breakthroughs was the discovery of stem cells, which was followed up in a breathtaking fashion by report after report of their promise, so much so that an almost miraculous scenario seems to be infolding in front of the world’s eyes. Stem cells are classified mainly by their source into three basic types: Embryonic, umbilical and adult stem cells. Each differ in their plasticity and could thus potentially be used for different medical purposes. However, for this to be possible, lab techniques for collecting, culturing and perhaps even transdifferenciating different stem cells need to be studied and outlined, ideally while having a good background of the mechanisms underlying the processes of differentiation and transdifferentaition, with all the various combinations of growth factor cocktails needed for the cell culture to be viable commercially and the individual and additive effect of each ingredient on the resultant culture.