Stem cells for discovery of effective and safe new drugs

Abstract

What are drugs? Drugs are substances that can be absorbed by the body to alter cellular behavior and thereby correct abnormal body function, relieve symptoms of the disease, or in some cases even cure the disease. Centuries of medicine as a “profession” in ancient, primitive, and contemporary cultures have led to the discovery of thousands of natural and synthetic drugs to treat a wide variety of acute and chronic diseases. In all cases though, drugs interact at the molecular level with either the cell type or tissue in the body affected by and/or causing the disease; in the case of an infectious disease they may also kill the responsible microorganism or virus, eliminating it from the body to exert a therapeutic effect.