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"Stem cells are the Gary Oldman of cell types."

Great analogy. I recall watching a film a few years ago with Gary Oldman in it, and not realising until the credits that it was him. Can't remember which one, unfortunately, probably because of my lack of stem cells.

EDIT: Might have been True Romance.

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The weakness in this analogy is that the stem cell itself does not transform into anything. What stem cells can do is, on division, 1) make a progeny cell with a different cell fate (i.e., a different cell type) and 2) self-renew (make another stem cell). Maybe you could say stem cells die in the process of giving birth to fraternal twins, one of which is a clone of the parent.

Not really. The internet is global.

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