The Rise of the Multi-Talented Adult Stem Cell

You started out as a single cell. It divided, and so did its daughtersand granddaughters, eventually producing trillions of cells  withspecific identities—red blood cells, neurons, heart muscle cells thatbeat, beat, beat. For as long as biologists have studied this maturationprocess, they’ve believed  that cells in adult tissue can’t readilytake on a whole new identity.  But researchers are challenging this ideawith the startling discovery of  adult cells that retain theirflexibility—a possible boon for treating devastating diseases.

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Smithsonian Magazine, July 2013.