preview

Embryonic Stem Cells

Decent Essays

Stem cells are cells within the body that have the ability to grow and reproduce repeatedly into any type of mature cell. They are unspecialized cells that divide through mitosis to produce more stem cells that replace cells in the system in which they are found. Stems cells make it possible for the body to renew and repair its damaged tissues. They are also vital in the development of human life. Stem cells are high potential cells, and this makes them a top focus in the biomedical research world. (Stem Cell Basics, 2009) This paper will discuss the background, function, and other aspects of stem cells. Stem cells are divided into three types, pluripotent, multipotent or totipotent. The term pluripotent means that the cells are capable of …show more content…

The stem cells that originate in the inner mass found in embryos a few days old are grown in the laboratory and are referred to as embryonic stem cells. A branch of these cells are embryonic germ cells, and these are derived from egg and sperm cells in a five to ten week old fetus. Both of these types of stem cells are pluripotent. In embryonic stem cells, the blastocyst cells divide and eventually develop into all of the tissues and organs of human beings. Embryonic stem cells are capable of being grown in the laboratory from blastocysts and made to differentiate into nerve, liver, muscle, blood, and other cells. (Morgani, et al. …show more content…

Scientists are attempting to conduct stem cell research for numerous reasons. Stem cells are unspecialized and can renew themselves through cell division for longer duration of time. Cells can be manipulated under certain conditions to become any cell that the scientist encodes them with. Examples of these are liver cells or heart cells. Scientists have performed studies which suggest that stem cells can grow into two-hundred ten types of cells in the human body. (Sakaki-Yumoto, 2013) Scientists also believe that these cells can be used to cure many diseases that they have tried to find a cure for things such as spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and hundreds of rare immune system and genetic disorders. (Watt,

Get Access