Stem Cells Harvested From Teeth

http://www.fox12idaho.com/global/story.asp?s=12274274

This is a mouth with a nice set of teeth.

http://womenofthecongo.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/white-teeth.26373811_std.jpg

"Stem Cells Harvested From Teeth." Fox 12 Idaho. World Now and KTVR, 07 Apr 2010. Web. 08 Apr 2010. .

• Doctor Lon McRae from Boise, Idaho has harvested stem cells from teeth.


• Can use baby teeth or regular teeth.


• "Stemsave" is a company that stores the stem cells.


• Doctor McRae has only tried this experiment on his son so far.


• Wisdom teeth have the strongest cells.
  

Reflection

This story caught my eye when I read it because I thought stem cells only came from certain places, specifically embryonic cells. Now, stem cells are being found all over the body. Teeth seem like a logical choice because they are strong tissues that are packed together. These hardened tissues could possibly be a source of stem cells. This story seems similar to Embryos-R-Us, because so many people and corporations have a stake in this discovery. I wonder if this experiment will work on others besides his son, the single patient Doctor McRae has already performed on. If it does, then it may create a new breakthrough in stem cell technology. This new experiment has shown me that anyone can discover something, if they look close enough in biology.