RMEScells.pdf

1. EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS by Junying Yu* and James A. Thomson** uman embryonic stem (ES) cells capture the Himagination because they are immortal and have How Human Embryonic Stem Cells Are Derived an almost unlimited developmental potential (Fig. 1.1: How hESCs are derived). After many months of growth in culture dishes, these remarkable cells In Vitro fertilization maintain the ability to form cells ranging from muscle to nerve to blood — potentially any cell type that Day 0 makes up the body. The proliferative and develop- mental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for Totipotent cells basic research and for transplantation therapies for Day 3 diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson’s disease to leukemia. Here we discuss the origin and properties of human ES cells, their implications for Blastocoel Blastocyst basic research and human medicine, and recent Day 5 research progress since August 2001, when President Trophectoderm George W. Bush allowed federal funding