Micro-miracle - Freeze frame - human embryo, the first 8 weeks - Brief Article - Illustration

No matter how big you get, in life everyone starts out small. So small, in fact, one could sit comfortably on the head of a pin, just like this human embryo, a baby in the first eight weeks of development (magnified 130 times). It's made of a cluster of 10 stern cells, or types of undifferentiated cells with the potential to become or repair any one of your body's 200 cell types, including heart, blood, and skin cells. "They're almost like magic," says scientist Brian Butcher at the Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane University in New Orleans, La.

Stem cells are the latest and most promising strategy to cure widespread diseases like diabetes (blood sugar disorder) and Alzheimer's (memory disorder). Scientists hope to grow stem cells into replacement tissue for many damaged body parts. Says Butcher:"Stem cell research is the cutting edge of science. It's going to change all our lives." Some good things really do come in small packages!

Stay tuned for our upcoming stem cell Q&A--and the controversy surrounding stem cells--in the next issue of SW. --N.D.

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