stemAs we all know from all of the superhero movies that Hollywood has been churning out over the last few years, whenever someone gains superpowers, there are two options: either become a selfless hero and save the world from evil or use your powers for evil and selfish motives and try to destroy the world. In Star Wars terms, there is a light side and a dark side to the force. Will you become Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader?
In the past decade, stem cells have been touted as potential superhero cells that may cure everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's. New research, however, shows that some stem cells have already gone over to the dark side and become supervillians. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered that cancerous tumors also have stem cells - and that these cancerous, evil stem cells are resistant to almost all forms of medication that target cancerous cells. This resistance occurs because the stem cells use their "become any cell in the body" superpowers to develop the same exterior markers that normal, non-cancerous cells have. Diabolical!
It's a good thing that there are some stem cells that choose to use their powers for good or else the world might be destroyed by stem cells with evil in their nuclei. Maybe that would make a great movie - The Battle of the Stem Cells!
For more on this, see the article in ScienceDaily here.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark side..."
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show there is 'opposition in ALL things.'