Human embryonic stem cell technology

Undifferentiated human embryonic stem (ES) cells can be cultured indefinitely and yet maintain the potential to form almost every cell in the adult human body. Therefore ES cells provide a model for understanding the differentiation and function of human tissue, offer new strategies for drug discovery and testing, and have the potential to provide new transplantation therapies for the treatment of a wide variety of human diseases. In this article, we describe the origin and properties of human ES cells, distinguish ES cells from other pluripotent stem cell lines, and discuss their implications for basic research and human medicine.