1 00:00:06,688 --> 00:00:09,778 Imagine two people are listening to music. 2 00:00:09,778 --> 00:00:10,615 What are the odds 3 00:00:10,615 --> 00:00:11,375 that they are listening 4 00:00:11,375 --> 00:00:13,180 to the exact same playlist? 5 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:14,783 Probably pretty low. 6 00:00:14,783 --> 00:00:18,370 After all, everyone has very different tastes in music. 7 00:00:18,370 --> 00:00:19,735 Now, what are the odds 8 00:00:19,735 --> 00:00:20,921 that your body will need 9 00:00:20,921 --> 00:00:23,154 the exact same medical care and treatment 10 00:00:23,154 --> 00:00:24,924 as another person's body? 11 00:00:24,924 --> 00:00:26,301 Even lower. 12 00:00:26,301 --> 00:00:27,772 As we go through our lives, 13 00:00:27,772 --> 00:00:29,763 each of us will have very different needs 14 00:00:29,763 --> 00:00:31,806 for our own healthcare. 15 00:00:31,806 --> 00:00:34,439 Scientists and doctors are constantly researching ways 16 00:00:34,439 --> 00:00:37,005 to make medicine more personalized. 17 00:00:37,866 --> 00:00:39,031 One way they are doing this 18 00:00:39,031 --> 00:00:41,644 is by researching stem cells. 19 00:00:41,644 --> 00:00:45,034 Stem cells are cells that are undifferentiated, 20 00:00:45,034 --> 00:00:48,560 meaning they do not have a specific job or function. 21 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,644 While skin cells protect your body, 22 00:00:50,644 --> 00:00:52,358 muscle cells contract, 23 00:00:52,358 --> 00:00:54,485 and nerve cells send signals, 24 00:00:54,485 --> 00:00:58,915 stem cells do not have any specific structures or functions. 25 00:00:58,915 --> 00:01:00,908 Stem cells do have the potential 26 00:01:00,908 --> 00:01:04,264 to become all other kinds of cells in your body. 27 00:01:04,264 --> 00:01:05,842 Your body uses stem cells 28 00:01:05,842 --> 00:01:08,759 to replace worn-out cells when they die. 29 00:01:08,759 --> 00:01:11,209 For example, you completely replace 30 00:01:11,209 --> 00:01:14,556 the lining of your intestines every four days. 31 00:01:14,556 --> 00:01:16,808 Stem cells beneath the lining of your intestines 32 00:01:16,808 --> 00:01:19,719 replace these cells as they wear out. 33 00:01:20,349 --> 00:01:22,971 Scientists hope that stem cells could be used 34 00:01:22,971 --> 00:01:26,512 to create a very special kind of personalized medicine 35 00:01:26,512 --> 00:01:29,691 in which we could replace your own body parts with, 36 00:01:29,691 --> 00:01:32,188 well, your own body parts. 37 00:01:32,188 --> 00:01:34,628 Stem cell researchers are working hard 38 00:01:34,628 --> 00:01:36,696 to find ways in which to use stem cells 39 00:01:36,696 --> 00:01:38,196 to create new tissue 40 00:01:38,196 --> 00:01:39,572 to replace the parts of organs 41 00:01:39,572 --> 00:01:43,118 that are damaged by injury or disease. 42 00:01:43,118 --> 00:01:45,962 Using stem cells to replace damaged bodily tissue 43 00:01:45,962 --> 00:01:48,675 is called regenerative medicine. 44 00:01:48,675 --> 00:01:51,907 For example, scientists currently use stem cells 45 00:01:51,907 --> 00:01:53,799 to treat patients with blood diseases 46 00:01:53,799 --> 00:01:55,911 such as leukemia. 47 00:01:55,911 --> 00:01:57,799 Leukemia is a form of cancer 48 00:01:57,799 --> 00:02:00,051 that affects your bone marrow. 49 00:02:00,051 --> 00:02:03,109 Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside your bones 50 00:02:03,109 --> 00:02:05,383 where your blood cells are created. 51 00:02:05,383 --> 00:02:08,903 In leukemia, some of the cells inside your bone marrow 52 00:02:08,903 --> 00:02:12,652 grow uncontrollably, crowding out the healthy stem cells 53 00:02:12,652 --> 00:02:14,865 that form your blood cells. 54 00:02:14,865 --> 00:02:16,991 Some leukemia patients can receive 55 00:02:16,991 --> 00:02:19,069 a stem cell transplant. 56 00:02:19,069 --> 00:02:20,753 These new stem cells will create 57 00:02:20,753 --> 00:02:24,041 the blood cells needed by the patient's body. 58 00:02:24,041 --> 00:02:25,558 There are actually multiple kinds 59 00:02:25,558 --> 00:02:27,288 of stem cells that scientists can use 60 00:02:27,288 --> 00:02:29,623 for medical treatments and research. 61 00:02:29,623 --> 00:02:32,913 Adult stem cells or tissue-specific stem cells 62 00:02:32,913 --> 00:02:34,710 are found in small numbers 63 00:02:34,710 --> 00:02:37,046 in most of your body's tissues. 64 00:02:37,046 --> 00:02:39,180 Tissue-specific stem cells replace 65 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:41,180 the existing cells in your organs 66 00:02:41,180 --> 00:02:43,433 as they wear out and die. 67 00:02:43,433 --> 00:02:45,676 Embryonic stem cells are created 68 00:02:45,676 --> 00:02:48,827 from leftover embryos that are willingly donated 69 00:02:48,827 --> 00:02:51,444 by patients from fertility clinics. 70 00:02:51,444 --> 00:02:53,867 Unlike tissue-specific stem cells, 71 00:02:53,867 --> 00:02:57,145 embryonic stem cells are pluripotent. 72 00:02:57,145 --> 00:02:58,524 This means that they can be grown 73 00:02:58,524 --> 00:03:01,430 into any kind of tissue in the body. 74 00:03:02,168 --> 00:03:03,782 A third kind of stem cells 75 00:03:03,782 --> 00:03:07,240 is called induced pluripotent stem cells. 76 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,988 These are regular skin, fat, liver, or other cells 77 00:03:10,988 --> 00:03:12,156 that scientists have changed 78 00:03:12,156 --> 00:03:15,146 to behave like embryonic stem cells. 79 00:03:15,146 --> 00:03:17,450 Like embryonic stem cells, 80 00:03:17,450 --> 00:03:20,401 they, too, can become any kind of cell in the body. 81 00:03:20,401 --> 00:03:22,409 While scientists and doctors hope to use 82 00:03:22,409 --> 00:03:24,218 all of these kinds of stem cells 83 00:03:24,218 --> 00:03:26,825 to create new tissue to heal your body, 84 00:03:26,825 --> 00:03:28,597 they can also use stem cells 85 00:03:28,597 --> 00:03:32,134 to help understand how the body works. 86 00:03:32,134 --> 00:03:34,640 Scientists can watch stem cells develop 87 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,908 into tissue to understand the mechnanisms 88 00:03:36,908 --> 00:03:39,941 that the body uses to create new tissue 89 00:03:39,941 --> 00:03:42,656 in a controlled and regulated way. 90 00:03:42,656 --> 00:03:44,996 Scientists hope that with more research, 91 00:03:44,996 --> 00:03:47,329 they can not only develop specialized medicine 92 00:03:47,329 --> 00:03:49,239 that is specific to your body 93 00:03:49,239 --> 00:03:51,036 but also better understand 94 00:03:51,036 --> 00:03:52,294 how your body functions, 95 00:03:52,294 --> 00:03:53,788 both when it's healthy 96 00:03:53,788 --> 00:03:55,404 and when it's not.