Stem Cell Biology

Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body. 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.

A new field of scientific and therapeutic endeavor has been created by the discovery and elucidation of the properties of stem cells. The body uses certain key cells known as tissue-derived stem cells to produce all the functional mature cell types found in normal organs of healthy individuals. The term "stem cells" has been applied to many ill-defined cell populations by the media and, indeed, by scientists in some case. As used by the Company, "stem cells" are only those rare cells that, at a single cell level, both self-renew and produce all of the functional specialized cells of the organ from which it was derived. Progenitor cells are cells that have already developed from the stem cells, but can still produce one or more types of mature cells within an organ.

More information on Stem Cells from the National Institutes of Health
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/