Stem Cell is source of all body tissues. Stem cells can replicate themselves or make any type of cell required to build an organism. Our growth and development—from single cell to mature adult—arises from and is maintained by stem cells. Moreover, stem cells may provide powerful tools for biological research and medicine.
Scientists are investigating two primary approaches to using stem cells in nursing. The first approach involves developing stem cells that could be transplanted to combat a specific disease. For instance, someone with a liver disease might receive a dose of liver stem cells (Jenny, 2003). Some day, a regular nursing regimen might even include an occasional dose of stem cells, much like a booster shot, to keep the body tuned up to fight off diseases and tissue damage. The second approach involves learning to use the body’s own supply of stem cells. Perhaps these stores of cells could be turned on or off as needed to help the body defend itself against health problems.
In 1981 scientists first grew cultures of stem cells from mice embryos. Although that achievement marked the beginning of extensive research, growing human stem cells in a laboratory remained an elusive goal until 1998. That year two research teams independently announced that they had isolated and grown human stem cells. The teams were led by biologists John Gearhart at Johns Hopkins University and James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
During the late 1990s scientists discovered many characteristics of stem cells (Potten, 2003). Perhaps most interesting, various investigators showed that even mature stem cells from one tissue—the blood, for example—can create cells of another tissue type, such as neurons (nerve cells) for the brain. In some of the most exciting results, researcher Fred Gage at the Salk Institute...................
