Somatic stem cells (also called adult stem cells) exist naturally in the body. They are important for growth, healing, and replacing cells that are lost through daily wear and tear.Potential as therapyStem cells from the blood and bone marrow are routinely used as a treatment for blood-related diseases. However, under natural circumstances somatic stem cells can become only a subset of related cell types. Bone marrow stem cells, for example, differentiate primarily into blood cells. This partial differentiation can be an advantage when you want to produce blood cells; but it is a disadvantage if you're interested in producing an unrelated cell type.Special considerationsMost types of somatic stem cells are present in low abundance and are difficult to isolate and grow in culture. Isolation of some types could cause considerable tissue or organ damage, as in the heart or brain. Somatic stem cells can be transplanted from donor to patient, but without drugs that suppress the immune system, a patient's immune system will recognize transplanted cells as foreign and attack them.Ethical considerationsTherapy involving somatic stem cells is not controversial; however, it is subject to the same ethical considerations that apply to all medical procedures.

Which of the following is a good source of adult stem cells in humans?Bone marrowMuscle cellsBlood cellsNerve cells

Adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells can be used in medical treatments.Explain why the choice between these two types of stem cells can causeissues for doctors

Stem cells are un-differentiated. This means that they haven’t yet to do a specific function. They can create more stem cells or differentiate (become a different type of body cell) to perform another function.

Stem cells can also be obtained from human embryos. Evaluate the use of stem cells from a patient’s own bone marrow instead of stem cells from an embryo. Give a conclusion to your answer. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

In humans, there are essentially TWO types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells (found only in the embryo) and adult stem cells (found, for example, in bone marrow).Evaluate the ability of these TWO types of stem cells to divide and differentiate.