Who in here has participated in the ALS ice bucket challenge? Now who has had an injury and had to go through surgery, physical therapy and wearing an annoying brace for a long period time after that? There seems to be one huge medical similarity in treatment between the two: stem cells. The way stem cells are being used to treat diseases and injuries will change the medical field forever. Stem cells have been always been a passion of mine and when I eventually enter the medical field, I plan to work closely with stem cells and how they can be used to help people with many different types of medical problems they face. Which is exactly why I now want to share this topic with all of you. In the future, it is predicted that stem cells will become a more prominent part of health care that you may encounter one day. Although, for your sake, I really hope you don’t. With that being said, I would like to tell you more about stem cells, the two main types, how they are obtained and then how they can be used. Before I start, I’d like everyone know exactly what a stem cell is. The American Medical Association defines stem cell as an immature cell that has either the potential to become specialized into different types of cells throughout the body or undergo self-renewal and become new stem cells. With that being said, there are two main types of stem cells: embryonic and what is called “adult” stem cells. Embryonic are produced when a newly fertilized egg begins to form. Embryonic stem cells are thought of as more flexible because they have the ability to become any type of cell in the body. Adult stem cells are found in small numbers in most adult tissues, such as bone marrow or fat. Adult stem cells, however, have a significantly more limited ability to give rise to the different types of cells in the body. Now, with a basic understanding of what stem cells are and the two basic types, you may question, how do you get these? The M