tags: Africa, agriculture, AI, apes, artificial, artificial intelligens, ASPM, atoms, biological diversity, biology, biosphere, biotechnology, birds, bloom, botany, bottom-up, brain, breeding, carbon dioxide, Carl Linnaeus, cells, cell division, chemical vapour deposition, children, chimpanzee, classification, climate, cloning, computers, computer chips, consciousness, cross-fertilisation, Darwin, death, development, DNA, domestic animals, Earth, ecology, economics, ecosystems, egg cell, egoism, electronic devices, elevator, embryo, embryonic stem cells, emotions, energy forests, environment, ethics, evolution, flooding, florigen, flowering, forestry, FOXP2, fullerenes, GDP, genemanipulation, genes, genetics, genetic code, gene manipulation, global change, God, heridity, human being, invisibility, kieselguhr, language, learning, life, materials, medicine, Mendel, molecular biology, molecular electronics, molecules, mutations, MYH16, nano, nanometres, nanotechnology, nanotubes, nano clocks, Nobel, nobel prize, oceans, organs, ozone hole, parkinson, pharmaceuticals, plants, play, poplar, proteins, quantum effects, rain forests, religion, resilience, robots, scanning tunnel microscope, self-awareness, self-consciousness, sex, space, speech, stem cells, top-down, trees, urbanisation, wetlands, Ångström,

question 6: what actually is a stem cell?

Stem cells are a medical raw material. They are as important for future medical science as forests have been for the paper industry. Without paper we wouldn't have any books. Without stem cells, we'd perhaps have to go on classifying numerous diseases as incurable.  Read more

question 19: have you still got stem cells in your body?

The cells in your body that are dying right now have to be replaced with new ones. This is going on all the time in all living organisms – the dying cells are replaced with new ones of the same kind. This is where adult stem cells come in.  Read more

question 31: can stem cells cure Parkinson's disease?

What did the late Pope John Paul II have in common with former world boxing champion Mohammed Ali and actor Michel J Fox? Answer: Parkinson's disease. New stem cell research is giving the sufferers hope – but when will they get a treatment that works?  Read more

question 37: is stem cell research playing with life?

Sweden is at the forefront of stem cell research. The results are successful, but the ethics of embryonic stem cell research in particular are surrounded by controversy. Can we defend the use of surplus embryos in research that may lead to finding the cure for serious illnesses?  Read more