What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the basis for every organ and tissue in our bodies.  We continually rely on stem cells to replace and rejuvenate tissues lost every day, such as hair, blood, and skin.  Stem cells have two important properties: self-renewal (making copies) and differentiation, which lead to the cells that make up our organ and tissue systems.

First:

1. Review
   • Understanding Stem Cells from the National Academies.
   • Stem Cell Facts from the International Society for Stem Cell Research
2. Watch
   • What are stem cells? – Craig A. Kohn

Next, submit the following below:

• Complete the therapeutic value of stem cells worksheet.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software, as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. When you are ready to submit your work, click Browse My Computer and find your file. Once you have located your file, click Open and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click Submit, and you are done. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Before you submit this assignment to the dropbox below, be sure to upload a copy to the “Final” dropbox for this assignment on Turnitin.com. 

Submitted assignments are worth 40% of your total course grade and will be evaluated using the NS110 Writing Rubric [98.8 KB PDF file].