New techniques to produce cells with the characteristics of embryonic stem cells include Parthenogenesis, retroviral transduction of transcription factor genes into adult skin cells (iPS), and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
<h3>What is embryonic stem cells?</h3>
Pluripotent stem cells called embryonic stem cells are produced from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, a preimplantation embryo in its early stages.
Four to five days after fertilization, human embryos reach the blastocyst stage, consisting of 50 to 150 cells.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are stem cells that come from an embryo's core mass of undifferentiated cells.
In laboratories, typically fertility clinics, 4- to 6-day-old embryos are used to produce human embryonic stem cells.
The core embryonic cells are taken out and put in a dish with the nutrients they require to thrive.
Theoretically, embryonic stem cells are capable of mass-producing any kind of tissue.
These cells are used by researchers to investigate disease and development in the hopes of developing therapies.
A single embryo's two or three dozen cells can produce millions of embryonic stem cells in about six months.
