Discovery of Adult Neural Stem Cells

In 1992, a Canadian scientist, Dr. Samuel Weiss, from the University of Calgary, discovered neural stem cells in the adult brain, which have the potential to produce new brain cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and specialize in order to build or repair tissues. Adult humans don’t have pluripotent stem cells, which are cells that can differentiate into most cell types, but rather have tissue-specific stem cells that can produce, for example, new blood cells or new skin cells. Weiss’s discovery suggests that the brain may be able to repair itself, a breakthrough in our understanding of the brain’s potential, which has led to further research into brain cell replacement and repair.  Neural stem cells may be used to treat degenerative brain disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson’s disease and are a subject of growing interest.   






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