Breast milk stem cells build baby

摘要

Breast milk is known for being full of goodies - but could that include stem cells from mum that go on to transform into parts of the baby's body? Preliminary evidence has shown this happens in mice, suggesting it also does in people. Stem cells have the unusual ability to regenerate themselves and develop into a variety of tissues. Several sources of stem cells are being developed for therapeutic use, including embryos, umbilical-cord blood and adult tissues. It was discovered seven years ago that human breast milk also contains a kind of stem cell. The question was whether these cells do anything useful for the baby or if they simply leak unavoidably into breast milk.