Order from noise: How randomness and collective dynamics define a stem cell

(Institute of Science and Technology Austria) Without stem cells, human life would not exist. Due to them, a lump of cells becomes an organ, and a fertilized egg develops into a baby. But what actually makes a stem cell? Are these a stable population of specially gifted cells? Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria discovered that instead, stem cells might emerge due to the collective behavior of cells within the organs.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news