4 ms·

So the stem cells grow into new nerve cells, and somehow grow all the way through the body to replace the damaged cell? Or perhaps they grow a short nerve cell

So the stem cells grow into new nerve cells, and somehow grow all the way through the body to replace the damaged cell? Or perhaps they grow a short nerve cell that connects the two halves of a damaged cell? It sounds like some funky hit-and-miss wiring.

bduerst 10y ago
Yes, stem cells can travel through the body. Our adult cells communicate with their immediate neighbors through some pretty complex chemical signalling, and stem cells are receptive to that. It's one of the reasons stem cells are able to cooperatively develop from one single cell into a complex multi-cellular organism. Each stem cell carries the complete blueprints for a human being, it just needs to access and activate them based on the signals from it's neighbors. In fact, pregnant mothers have been found to have fetal stem cells in their blood stream, which target areas of injury and are thought to be repairing them, even within the brain.
- stdgy 10y ago
  As an aside, it should be noted that all cells carry the complete blueprint for a human being. The open question for a long time was whether it would be possible to push adult cells 'back' in time to a state where they could become another type of cell. Thanks to the work of tenacious scientists, we know that the answer is yes! It can be done. Methods have been discovered to coax already differentiated cells to become pluripotent. That is, adult cells that are already of a specific 'type' have been reprogrammed to become stem cells. I in no way intend this to be an argument against embryonic stem cells. I just find it to be extraordinarily interesting and an intriguing avenue for further development. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell

4 ms·

So the stem cells grow into new nerve cells, and somehow grow all the way through the body to replace the damaged cell? Or perhaps they grow a short nerve cell

by incompatible 10y ago

bduerst 10y ago
Yes, stem cells can travel through the body. Our adult cells communicate with their immediate neighbors through some pretty complex chemical signalling, and stem cells are receptive to that. It's one of the reasons stem cells are able to cooperatively develop from one single cell into a complex multi-cellular organism. Each stem cell carries the complete blueprints for a human being, it just needs to access and activate them based on the signals from it's neighbors. In fact, pregnant mothers have been found to have fetal stem cells in their blood stream, which target areas of injury and are thought to be repairing them, even within the brain.
- stdgy 10y ago
  As an aside, it should be noted that all cells carry the complete blueprint for a human being. The open question for a long time was whether it would be possible to push adult cells 'back' in time to a state where they could become another type of cell. Thanks to the work of tenacious scientists, we know that the answer is yes! It can be done. Methods have been discovered to coax already differentiated cells to become pluripotent. That is, adult cells that are already of a specific 'type' have been reprogrammed to become stem cells. I in no way intend this to be an argument against embryonic stem cells. I just find it to be extraordinarily interesting and an intriguing avenue for further development. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell