Stem Cell Technology in Medical Biotechnology

Stem cells are small, unspecialized, and undifferentiated cells with a chromatin conformation that is not characteristic of any particular cell type and can be programmed, upon appropriate stimulation, into different cell types. These cells provide base material for formation of many different body cells for therapeutic and research applications. There has been a revolution in the therapeutic applications of stem cell technology during the past decade and the revolutionary introduction of CRISPR-Cas9 has further increased the possibilities of their use. This chapter describes stem cell technology, its types, applications in various established pathological conditions, and ethical concerns revolving their use. It also provides insightful details about the culture conditions required for propagating and differentiating stem cells, tissue engineering, establishment of organ cultures, and limitations in establishing stem cell cultures.