ed within the realm of physiological research has a number of practical and often immediate applications, including medical uses. One of the key aspects of all physiological research but especially that of stem cell research is that it is promises us at least the possibility of creating or recreating fully functional systems - something that can only happened after we understand how they work.
The ability to create or recreate an entire physical system is arguably (and for the moment we are considering only the science and not the ethics of the issue) the greatest possible achievement of physiological research. Stem cell research offers this possibility to a greater extent even than most forms of physiological research. Stem cells offer such promise because they are both complete and immature: As undifferentiated but genetically complete cells they are theoretically capable of being prodded to turn into any type of cell in a human or other organism. This potential suggests that they be used to grow new pancreatic cells for people with diabetes - who would then be cured, not merely treated. Stem cells might also be able to be induced to grow new nerve cells and so reverse paralysis, or new corneal cells and so reverse blindness.
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can renew themselves indefinitely and, under the right conditions, can develop into more mature cells with specialized functions. They are found in embryos at early stages of developm
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