Symposium: Biology of Regeneration and Stem Cells
Abstract
Introduction Symposium: Biology of Regeneration and Stem Cells A ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM, âBiology of Regeneration and Stem Cells,â has been organized for January 8, 2005 in Copenhagen, Denmark in conjunction with the International Embryo Transfer Society (IETS). This follows the success of the earlier pre-IETS symposia in Omaha, Brazil and New Zealand. Our aim in this meeting is to bring together speakers on two related aspects of biology that both have potential value in research, agriculture and the treatment of human injury and disease. These are the ability to regenerate limbs, organs, and tissues after injury and the role of stem cells in development. An extraordinary ability to replace damaged tissues and organs is exhibited by many species including some vertebrates. Indeed, some mice have an unusual ability to repair tissue damage. New molecular tools are providing revolutionary opportunities to study the regulation of these responses with a view to being able to influence them and ultimately to re-establish the mechanisms in humans. Stem cells have now been isolated from many stages of mammalian development ranging from the early embryo to the adult. In recent years, much has been learned about the maintenance of these cells in culture, the