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Embryonic stem cell
hideEmbryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells.
Embryonic Stem (ES) cells are pluripotent. This means they are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. These include each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body. Pluripotency distinguishes ES cells from multipotent progenitor cells found in the adult; these only form a limited number of cell types. When given no stimuli for differentiation, (i.e. when grown in vitro), ES cells maintain pluripotency through multiple cell divisions. The presence of pluripotent adult stem cells remains a subject of scientific debate; however, research has demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells can be directly generated from adult fibroblast cultures.
Because of their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. However Diseases treated by these non-embryonic stem cells include a number of blood and immune-system related genetic diseases, cancers, and disorders; juvenile diabetes; Parkinson's; blindness and spinal cord injuries. Besides the ethical concerns of stem cell therapy (see stem cell controversy), there is a technical problem of graft-versus-host disease associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, these problems associated with histocompatibility may be solved using autologous donor adult stem cells or via therapeutic cloning.
For more information about Embryonic stem cell, read the full article at
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News tagged with embryonic stem cells
Stem cells restore mobility in neck-injured rats (w/ Video)
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical ...
Stem cells restore cognitive abilities impaired by brain tumor treatment, study finds
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study.
Lung tissue generated from human embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's ...
Of mice and men: Stem cells and ethical uncertainties
Oct 29, 2009 |
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The recent creation of live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) not only represents a remarkable scientific achievement, but also raises important issues, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University's ...
Placental precursor stem cells require testosterone-free environment to survive
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial ...
Scientists turn stem cells into precursors for sperm, eggs
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of ...
Disgraced cloning expert convicted in South Korea (Update)
Oct 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A South Korean stem cell scientist once hailed as a hero for bringing hope to people with incurable diseases and creating the world's first cloned dog was convicted Monday on criminal charges related ...
Reprogramming a patient's eye cells may herald new treatments against degenerative disease
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Scientists have overcome a key barrier to the clinical use of stem cells with a technique which transforms regular body cells into artificial stem cells without the need for introducing foreign genetic materials, which could ...
Bone formation from embryonic stem cells
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Jojanneke Jukes of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, has succeeded in growing bone tissue with the help of embryonic stem cells for the first time.
Growing Cartilage from Stem Cells
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Damaged knee joints might one day be repaired with cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory, based on research by Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering ...
Small mechanical forces have big impact on embryonic stem cells
Oct 18, 2009 |
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Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed ...
A major step in making better stem cells from adult tissue
Oct 18, 2009 |
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A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research ...
ID3 provides career counseling for blood progenitors, driving the creation of gamma-delta T cells
Oct 15, 2009 |
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Like an unusually forceful career counselor, the Id3 protein decides the fate of a given white blood cell precursor, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their findings, published today in the journal Immunity, de ...
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers ...
New strategy for mending broken hearts?
Oct 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, Duke University bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living "heart patch" ...
