It now looks as though some of that fat can be salvaged and reprogrammed to form muscle, bone, cartilage, and even more fat. For too long it was seen as something to be removed and tossed away. We weren't seeing its potential. We now know that it's not just spare tissue, but rather a vigorous tissue capable of regenerating. The researchers had taken stem cells from human fat removed during liposuction and in test tube experiments saw these stem cells become other tissue.
Stem cells are the unprogrammed master cells that mature to become different cell types in the body.
Now, the researchers are taking stem cells from rat fat cells and placing these stem cells in different environments in the body to see if they become similarly transformed. Details of this research appear in the April issue of the medical journal Tissue Engineering. An Ethical Alternative Stem cells, which until now only came from bone marrow, brain tissue, or fetal tissue, are believed by many scientists to be the greatest hope for curing many degenerative illnesses, such as Parkinson's disease. Unfortunately, there are obstacles. Fat may be the ideal source.