ES cell technology: an introduction to genetic manipulation, differentiation and therapeutic cloning.

ES cells are extraordinary cells, capable of proliferating in a pluripotent state indefinitely and of differentiating spontaneously into all cell types in vivo and many in vitro. However, the manipulation and modification of ES cells by processes such as directed differentiation and genetic modification have placed ES cells at the forefront of many biological studies and could lead to their application in biopharmaceutical areas such as cellular therapy and drug screening. Here we describe some of the ES cell based technologies that have lead to this realisation of ES cell potential.