Multipotent vs Pluripotent? What’s the difference?

This is an important distinction. While multipotent cells are useful, they do not have the ability to become any cell type in the human body. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, but they can only be obtained by terminating a developing human embryo. Recent advancement in medicine have been able to derive pluripotent cells from adult cells. In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka and Sir John Gurdon were awarded a Nobel Prize for demonstrating a technique than converts fully differentiated human cells into pluripotent stem cells. This means that adult cells in the human body can be turned into cells that behave and function like embryonic stem cells – without having to harvest them from embryos. These embryonic-like stem cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC’s) and can become any cell type in the human body. The hair follicles that Acorn collects can become these very valuable pluripotent cells once they are converted into IPSC’s.