Dr. Sergiu Pașcă

If they're pluripotent, they can make almost everything.

And then, of course, there are lower levels of potency for the cells.

So we all carry stem cells in us, right?

Not in the brain, or fewer in the brain for sure, but in the liver and in other organs, like in the gut, as we renew the gut,

You know, every few weeks, that is done primarily through the stem cells.

But those are restricted.

They can make everything.

They can make mostly that specialized cell type for which they have been so, like, primed.

Now, the earliest, earliest of stem cells, like those pluripotent, they are very important.

Those are present at early stages of development of the embryo.

And, of course, that happens post-conception.

So the challenge has been that you have to remove them from a fertilized egg.

And if life starts at conception, then, of course, you're interfering.

So I think a lot of the ethical debates have started because of that.

But you know, in early days, even if you were to do that, you wouldn't be able to keep those cells.

It turns out that the cells are very difficult to maintain.

And this brings us actually to the second property of the cells, which is that in principle, they can be maintained forever.

If you provide the right conditions, they will divide and stay the same forever.

Those are the two properties.

So, you know, you can keep them forever.