Cell Biology

Stem cells are defined as rare cells that have the ability to undergo self-renewal and to generate various different cell types. However, these definitions are more easily philosophized than shown by exact science. What exactly is self-renewal? What are the conditions that favor self-renewal vs. differentiation? How can one demonstrate self-renewal experimentally. Regarding other aspect of stem cell can generate different cell types, how can one show that stem cells generate different cell types vs. just mixing of various cells types within a tissue?
These are just some of the topics that can be discussed on this forum.