Talk:Stem cell

Hi David, just read through this quickly and noticed the references you are adding cite specific page numbers. Do you think we need such detailed cites? It may be fine to just have the same reference cited multiple times. Chris Day (Talk) 23:02, 8 February 2007 (CST)

I just made an example edit, please feel free to revert if that's not you want. Just want to make sure you know the option is available. Certainly this could be done for the first two uses of the bioessay article since they are literally identical even to the page number. Likewise i added the template to the stem cell picture you uploaded earlier, again, as i was not sure if you knew that option was available. Chris Day (Talk) 23:10, 8 February 2007 (CST)

Thank you for informing me of the existence of inline reference syntax that allows multiple occurrences of the same reference number. The specific page numbers may be useful to the reader who wishes to review the source material in the journals cited. However, where the references are entirely identical, they can be combined. David Ellis 22:16, 11 February 2007 (CST)

Those recent edits makes a lot more sense. Certainly reduces the redundancy in the refererence section. Chris Day (Talk) 22:44, 11 February 2007 (CST)

Way more can be written about stem cells before the article goes in to usages. Morphology (looks like lymphocyte?), location in body, a flow chart for words like pleuripotent, totipotent, etc, etc. Examples of specific known stem cells...History, discovery, how they are cultured, medium cultured on, ways of making them differentiate... I just think the article jumps in to political stuff too fast and could hit the basic science first. -Tom Kelly (Talk) 23:24, 11 February 2007 (CST)

Text from stem cells

Ok, stem cells was just very small and overlapping.Here is the text:

Stem cells refer to the category of cells within an organism that are able to self-renew as well as differentiate into more specific cell fates. There are 2 major classes of naturally occurring stem cells in vertebrate animals: embryonic and adult. Another category of stem cells are derrived from differentiated tissues that are then induced to become "stem cell-like;" these are referred to as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).1

Common terminology within the field refers to the "potency" of the stem cell.

• Totipotency implies that a cell is capable of generating an entire organism. (ex. a fertilized egg)
• Pluripotancy implies that a cell is capable of differentiating into a cell belonging to any of the three major germ/tissue layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm ), but is not capable of generating an entire organism. (ex. embryonic stem cells)
• Multipotency implies that a cell is capable of differentiating into a variety of more specific cell types, however it is usually restrictd to only one or two of the germ layers. (ex. most adult stem cells).

references

1. Takahashi K, Yamanaka S. Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast cultures by defined factors. Cell. 2006 Aug 25;126(4):663-76. Epub 2006 Aug 10. PMID: 16904174 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]