BTW, my dentist today said that we're only about 5-6 years away from dentists implanting a tooth bud in our gums to grow a new tooth. She said they've been doing it successfully with animals for a while. The technology comes from stem cell research. I didn't think to ask her where the tooth buds came from at the time. I started thinking about it later and my guess would be they take them out of aborted babies, but hopefully not.
Cat, it's just like growing an ear on the back of a mouse. They didn't need a fetal ear to get it started. Stem cells aren't tooth cells, or liver cells, or anything, They haven't yet been directed to become a specific cell type. All cells begin this way. In this case, they are genetically directed to become a tooth. Like the ear, they likely begin with a shaped, organic blank (template) and then genetic material builds upon that.
It's like a Chia Pet. What sprouts depends on what seeds you started with.
They only used aborted fetuses to make shampoo.
