stem cell
nounDefinition of stem cell
: an unspecialized cell that gives rise to differentiated cells
hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow
Examples of stem cell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The neural stem cells were generated in 2000 from a human fetus, Snyder said. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Neural stem cells to be readied for newborn therapy under $5M grant to San Diego researcher," 20 Aug. 2019 Nationals ace Max Scherzer received a stem cell shot to treat his strained back and hopes to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against Atlanta. — BostonGlobe.com, "FIFA shoots for more Women’s World Cup teams," 27 July 2019 Along the way, scientists have developed the ability to convert stem cells into small, rudimentary, 3-dimensional models of human tissue. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "UCSD to send ‘mini-brains’ to International Space Station for neural disease research," 7 July 2019 But tests have found some of her mother’s stem cells in her blood. — New York Times, "Five Blood Transfusions, One Bone Marrow Transplant — All Before Birth," 25 May 2018 The mini-brains are made from human stem cells derived from adults. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "UCSD to send ‘mini-brains’ to International Space Station for neural disease research," 7 July 2019 Deepak Srivastava has first-hand experience with the power of stem cells. — Emily Baumgaertner, latimes.com, "When it comes to disease, stem cells are a game-changer, scientists say. This is why," 27 June 2019 Producing new eggs and sperm from stem cells would add genetic diversity to the lab-grown northern white rhino population, potentially making recovery more likely. — Rebecca Boyle, Discover Magazine, "The Quixotic Quest to Birth a Baby Northern White Rhino," 25 June 2019 McMahon is studying ways to grow kidneys from human stem cells. — Scientific American, "Trump Administration Halts Fetal-Tissue Research by Government Scientists," 6 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stem cell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for stem cell
stem cell
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of stem cell
technical
: a simple cell in the body that is able to develop into any one of various kinds of cells (such as blood cells, skin cells, etc.)
See the full definition for stem cell in the English Language Learners Dictionary
stem cell
noun
\ ˈstem-
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Medical Definition of stem cell
: an unspecialized cell capable of perpetuating itself through cell division and having the potential to give rise to differentiated cells with specialized functions
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst stage of the embryo. — Carrie J. Merkle, in Essentials of Pathophysiology, 2011 … picture the bone marrow as a blood cell factory that takes a single type of precursor cell, or stem cell, and modifies it in various ways to produce all the cells that circulate in the blood.— Gina Kolata, Discover, September 1987 Recent observations are providing increasing evidence for the concept that adult stem cells are part of a natural system for tissue repair. — Darwin J. Prockop, in Essentials of Stem Cell Biology, 2006