What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are cells found in animals and humans that have several distinctive properties. They have the ability to divide and reproduce themselves for long periods of time. They are unspecialized, meaning they do not perform a specific function like muscle cells or nerve cells. But they are also pluripotent, meaning they have the ability to divide and make specialized cells, such as muscle, nerve, or skin cells, and even have the potential to make entire body parts. Stem cells are a controversial issue because it involves destroying a fetus in order to get the cells. These cells are formed in the embryos and are used to create the fetus. Embryonic cells are cells that are inside the egg of a forming organism. These cells can be used to cure deadly diseases and help with creating new body parts if one is lost to disease. Stem cells are a great new scientific discovery that needs to be approved to help our society and advance our medical science to the next level.