where do embryotic stem cells come from?
823911
Fertilization of an egg with sperm can occur in vitro (in a test tube). Under proper conditions, a blastocyst will form after about 5 days. The blastocyst contains a group of cells called the inner cell mass. These cells are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into any cell in the human body. These are commonly referred to as "embryotic stem cells".
787861
most parents today have the umbelical stem cells of their childred preserved (by freezing) at birth.\n\nthese cells will provide the starting point for growing new body parts for them in later years.\n\nwhy:\n\nif i took a stem cell from my body and grew a new heart, it would still be a 65 year old heart. If a heart were grown from stem scell preserved at my birth, it would be only 9 months old.
406585
Scientists are leagues away from using stem cells to produce organs.  Below are a few sites that will help you understand where the field is now, and how far we have yet to go:\n\nhttp://www.bioteach.ubc.ca/Bioengineering/StemCells/\nhttp://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/About/FAQ.htm
711160
A stem cell is a basic cell that hasn't quite decided what to become yet.  It is like a cell on standby waiting for orders from the body.  Once the cell gets orders, it goes where it is needed and becomes whatever type of cell the body needs.\n\nWhen a fetus is developing, stem cells become whatever the infant needs based on the DNA code that the mother and father provide.  They become the bones, organs, muscles, brain, hair, etc.  Later in life, stem cells work to repair damage to the body such as bone breaks, cuts, torn ligaments, etc.  This does not mean that aborted fetuses are the primary source of stem cells; it's just one of the most visible ways of seeing how stem cells are used.\n\nMost of the advancements in stem cell research are actually being done with bone-marrow or umbilical cords.  By getting stem cells from adults or umbilical cords, no infants or fetuses need to be harmed.\n\nThe applications of the research are vast.  Scientist hope to be able to repair damaged nerves to cure blindness, deafness and crippling injuries.  There are also ways of using stem cells to stunt the growth of cancers or repair damage to organs.\n\nI hope that was elementary enough.  Stem cell research is really not as bad as everyone makes it seem.  Think about it--if we can cure breast cancer without harming a single child (born or unborn), isn't it worth considering?
775192
http://www.ask.com/web?o=ie7&qsrc=6&l=dir&q=Funds+for+Embryonic+Stem+Cell+Research\n\nnot really
20498
This is a very complex process that forces cells to make commit to an end product while making sure not to allow any redundancies. The genes involved in this process are numerous, but the first to be identified are called the HOX genes. What's interesting about these genes is that they are conserved across a diverse number of species (invertibrates all the way up to mammals).\n\nSo to simplify, the cells of a blastula don't have any idea what they are going to be (face cell, brain cell or liver cell). They have to be told what they are going to be and this is done by the turning on of particular genes which determines the ultimate function of that cell. This selective expression of genes is determined by a complex sequence of events which is dictated by the genes such at teh HOX family of genes. I'm sure there are many other genes and gene families that are involved, but I've given you a couple of sources below that will elaborate. Interestingly, differentiation is a process that not only occurs in multicelllular orgranisms, it also happens in some single-celled organisms (such as the bacterium B. subtilis). I've give you link to the leading researcher in that area also. It may help to understand how things like this happen in its simplest form.
238795
Stem cells are primal undifferentiated cells which retain the ability to differentiate into other cell types. This ability allows them to act as a repair system for the body, replenishing other cells as long as the host organism is alive.\n\nMedical researchers believe stem cell research has the potential to change the face of human disease by being used to repair specific tissues or to grow organs. Yet as government reports point out, "significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research."\n\nThere are three types of stem cells: embryonic, adult and cord blood. Right to life and many religious groups have ethical problems with embryonic programs because it involves destroying surplus embryos from IVF programs.
425446
The best source of stem cells is abortion.  That is starting to change, though--they are finding other good sources.
866897
Cell division reproduces the same kind of cell.  Cell differentiation is, in embrionic development, the situation wherein cells split-off in different "directions" to become very different things (eg., skin, spleen,...etc.)\n     An editorial:  Stem cell research is investigating the ways that very basics cells (think "undecided") might be introduced and encouraged to grow into cells... organs... to correct some sort of desease or injury.  I think it's a good thing!
994833
No, I think Embryonic stem cell research is not wrong.  Embryonic stem cells are cultured cells obtained from the undifferentiated inner mass cells of an early stage human embryo (sometimes called a blastocyst, which is an embryo that is between 50 to 150 cells). Embryonic stem cell research have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells, according to the National Institutes of Health.  Unlike somatic cells, embryonic stem cells are totipotent.  I think the benefits of Embryonic stem cell research is far greater than anything we have to sacrifice.  \nTechnologies derived from Embryonic stem cell research can be used to treat cancer, spinal cord injuries, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other diseases, impairments and conditions.
931582
Stem cells are primal cells that retain the ability to renew themselves through cell division and can differentiate into a wide range of specialized cell types\n\nBone marrow (or medulla ossea) is the soft tissue found in the hollow interior of bones. It is the place where most new blood cells are produced.
41904
I know of two kinds of cells that are not regenerated: Brain cells (neurons) and if you are female, eggs cells in the ovary.  The ones you are born with are still with you.
18080
Embryonic stem cell research generally involves the death of an embryo.  The objection to stem cell research is basically a pro life position held in the belief that an embryo is human and should not be experimented on and killed like it is not human.
209362
Thats all I could find. Hope it helps.\n\n\nhttp://www.cfcc.cc.fl.us/news/archive/stemcells102705.htm
124440
Well, our professor was telling us about the possibility of applying stem cell technology in this area. Embryonic stem cells when given the right environmental cues can develop into neurons. Alternatively, Schwann cells which are the ones that wrap around the axons and allow for conduction can also be generated from embryonic stem cells. Hope that helps.
219439
There is debate about whether neural stem cells, or other types of adult stem cells exist. When talking about adult stem cells, it's important to define what a stem cell is. Cells can be totipotent, pluripotent, or multipotent.\n\nCells that are totipotent are capable of growing into a complete organism and can contribute to all tissues, including placenta. Cells that are pluripotent can contribute to all tissues, but cannot form placenta, and thus cannot form a complete organism. Cells that are multipotent can become more than one type of cell, but are already committed to a certain type of fate. An example would be a bone marrow stem cell that can become any of the types of blood cells, but can't become anything else.\n\nSome research has suggested that some multipotent cells can reverse their fate restrictions and become more types of cells. This is still very controversial and it may or may not actually happen. Something to keep in mind is that this is similar to what cancer cells do. Adult stem cells may have some strong similarities to cancer forming cells.\n\nEmbryonic stem cells remain the most viable scientific choice for therapeutics.
784408
Chimeras are formed from four parent cells (two fertilized eggs or early embryos are fused together) or three parent cells (a fertilized egg is fused with an unfertilized egg or a fertilized egg is fused with an extra sperm). Each population of cells keeps its own character and the resulting animal is a mosaic of mis-matched parts. An analogy is two jigsaw puzzles cut using an identical cutter, but with different pictures. A single puzzle can be made out of the mis-matched parts, but the completed puzzle will show parts of both different pictures. The likelihood of a child being a chimera is increased if the child is created via in vitro fertilization. Chimeras can often breed, but the fertility and type of offspring depends on which cell line gave rise to the ovaries or testes.