50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Stem Cells

In the early 1960s, two Canadian scientists by the names of James Till and Ernest McCulloch at the University of Toronto made the discovery of stem cells.

Stem cells, put simply, can be thought of as “blank slates”; cells which can divide differentiate in a variety of cell types. They can now be used to grow human tissues and may even one day be able to grow entire organs which can be transplanted into human subjects.

The medical implications of this discovery are incredible. To help celebrate, the Ontario Science Center has an exhibit open until October 2, 2011, depicting the wonders of stem cells.

So if you live in the Toronto area, be sure to check it out!

(Thanks to @DiscoveryCanada for bringing this to my attention)

In honour of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of stem cells @OntarioScienceCtr has created a special exhibit http://ow.ly/6oYL6

— Discovery Canada (@DiscoveryCanada) September 8, 2011

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Ryan