Just last week, I told you about two scientists who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine for creating this field.
The advance that cemented their award occurred in 2002. But it wasn't until just five years ago, in 2007, that the science of deriving adult stem cells really began in earnest.
As you might expect, it took two or three years just for all those teams around the world to get organized.
Already, I'm seeing a steady stream of new findings. There seems to be something new almost every week.
As a group, they point to a day in the very near future in which adult stem cells will become a routine part of treating a wide range of diseases, from cancer to Alzheimer's.
See, that's the great thing about stem cells - they can grow to become anything, from bone to brain tissue. Doctors hope to take your own cells, like those in your skin, and use them to grow replacement organs or to repair damaged muscles or other tissue.
Over the weekend, I told you how a team used adult stem cells to reverse vision loss in older mice. As it turns out, there are more advances you should know about.
You will really like this first one...
Adult Stem Cell Breakthrough No. 1: The New Fountain of Youth
At age 20, armed with one of the best male physiques on the planet, Arnold Schwarzenegger became Mr. Universe.At 65, the action hero still looks good... but he's not nearly as buff.
And how could he be? It's a simple fact of science. As we age, we lose muscle mass, leaving us much more prone to falls and injuries.
Now, a team from the U.S. and Great Britain has found both the cause and a possible cure. Team members looked at stem cells inside muscles of mice. They found that the older mice in the study had far fewer of the stem cells needed to repair damage and rebuild muscle mass.
Here's why.