Stem Cells Properties

The human body contains hundreds of different types of cells that are critical to human health and activities. These cells are responsible for the daily operations of our body, such as the heart pumping for circulation, brain thinking, blood filtration of kidney, replacement of the skin tissues and so on. Stem cells are suppliers of new cells that make all other kinds of cells. Also, under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells can divide to form or to proliferate more cells; these new stem cells are either self-renewal or specialized in differentiation with a more specific function at where no cells, other than stem cells, has the natural ability to generate new cell types. In summary, all stem cells—regardless of their source—have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types.