Scientists Find Stem Cells in Breast Milk

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Researchers in Australia have discovered that human breast milk may contain stem cells. This discovery is added to the handful that have been announced in the last few months, which helps to encourage accelerated studies and research into the potential use of non-embryonic stem cells for finding treatments and cures for a large number of disease processes. Dr. Mark Cregan, a molecular biologist at the University of Western Australia, said, "We already know how breast milk provides the baby's nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions."
Because studies have shown that breast-fed babies tend to have higher IQs, as well as increased immunity against many common childhood ailments, studies of breast milk potential for genetic protection from a multitude of illnesses and diseases is the thrust of Cregan's studies.

Investigating the complicated cellular structure of human milk will take several years, but if breast milk contains the stem cell marker called nestin, encouraging development in the capability of such cells to multiply and differentiate into multiple cell types might be able to be reprogrammed to form other types of human tissues.

"We have shown these cells have all the physical characteristics of stem cells. What we will do next is to see if they behave like stem cells," says Dr. Cregan. Immune cells that have been found in breast milk could provide a path toward immunity against various bacteria and viruses.

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