Stem Cells: What, How and Why?
Stem cells are infinitely valuable when considering their potential applications in the medical profession. While current legislative restrictions have halted the development of new ?stem cell lines? to any agency or company that receives any form of governmental grants, there is no question that the medical profession is standing at the brink of a new era of technological advancements in healthcare and research.
Stem cells are valuable due to the fact that they are
?non-designated,? (have no specifically assigned task in the body, i.e. liver cells, brain cells, skin cells, etc.) and they also have the ability to divide indefinitely. Thus, theoretically stem cells could replace any damaged or lost
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The first method, developed by Dr. Thomson involves ?the isolation of pluripotent stem cells directly from the inner cell mass of human embryos at the blastocyst stage. Dr.
Thomson received embryos from IVF (InVitro Fertilization) clinics. ?.Dr. Thomson isolated the inner cell mass and cultured these cells producing a pluripotent stem cell line.?
(NIH Primer)
The second method of deriving pluripotent stem cells was developed by Dr. Gearhart. In this more controversial method,
Gearhart obtained stem cells from the fetal tissue of terminated pregnancies. He took cells from areas of the fetus that would soon develop into the reproductive organs of the fetus. He then isolated the inner cell mass and cultured these cells. In was in this way that Dr. Gearhart produced a pluripotent stem cell line which would be available to other researchers. What little we know about stem cells has already altered the course of medical research and new findings are sure to expand on this occurrence. The potential applications of stem cell research include advancements in the study of Parkinson?s,
Alzheimer?s, spinal cord damage, stroke, burn victims and patients in need of skin grafts, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis in addition to answering some of the many questions regarding gene therapy.
So what?s the problem? Well, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) issued a ?primer? to explain what exactly are stem cells and what
Stem Cell research and its funding have caused a lot of controversy throughout the past years. Stem cells are cells that are present in all living organisms. These cells have the potential to grow into any type of cell, including blood cells, nerves, muscles, and pancreatic cells. Stem cell research is essential because of the beneficial aspects it has to offer. Stem cells could potentially treat conditions such as Alzheimer 's, Parkinson 's, birth defects, strokes, Diabetes, cancer, and help in the reconstruction of severely damaged organs. Although stem cell research withholds great potential for many medical advances, a lot of controversy surrounds the sources and methods of obtaining stem cells and the possibility of improper usage of the knowledge acquired from research and experimentation. It is necessary for scientist to continue research as well as recognizing any ethical issues that may be present.
Stem cell derivatives may be a beneficial source of transplantable cells that may be able to repair and regenerate certain tissues. If this could be accomplished, the medical benefits would be enormous, such as helping Parkinson disease, MS, diabetes, and muscular dystrophies. Although, this could be an extremely important advancement in the field of medicine, there exist many ethical and religious issues that look down upon destroying embryos for research. The stem cells that are focused on in this report are embryonic stem cells. However, adult stem cells may also be used to give rise to lineages of cells that are more specialized than themselves. They are more differentiated than embryonic stem cells. Research using adult stem cells is much less controversial since they can be obtained without destroying an embryo. There is also a strong political aspect that has been brought up in recent discussions regarding groups who try to push adult stem cell research over embryonic stem cell research since they consider it a more permissible option. In contrast, people in favor of embryonic stem cell research try to discredit the potential of adult stem cell studies.
Stem cells get their name from the fact that they are basic cells that other cells develop from. They are capable of developing into a wide range of cells. Stem cells could potentially be used to grow new cells to replace the cells that were destroyed or damaged by
A brief introduction to stem cells; Stem cells are cells that are undifferentiated, or, simply put, a cell that has not yet been given a job, such as cells that create molecules. In recent years, scientists have discovered the potency that stem cells contain, due to their versatility. For example, stem cells could be studied and used to cure a man of liver disease, a child’s handicap, a woman’s breast cancer, etc…, etc…. One may now be asking themselves? “That’s great… then why are so many people against stem cell research? What could possibly be the drawback? “. You see, stem cells are acquired by human embryos, or, in Layman’s Terms, unborn fetuses. Take for
There are multiple ways for stem cells to be obtained such as: Taking the cells from aborted embryos or fetuses, umbilical cords, adult tissues, or artificially creating embryos with a process known as a somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In this process “the nucleus of an egg is removed and replaced by the nucleus from a mature body cell, like a skin cell” (Arnes). Also known as cloning. However, creating embryos like this do not create stable stem cells. And taking stem cells from umbilical cords has the possibility to transfer unknown genetic disease and “has not yet demonstrated health and
topics of all time, can be viewed as either a positive or negative step to a better tomorrow. A
Stem cell research may not be new when thinking in terms of years but very new in terms of medicine. Not even two decades old, stem cell research has grabbed the world’s attention. Sixteen years ago, in 1998, the journal Science published James Thomson’s, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, work of the first reported development of a line of human embryonic stem cells. Though a short paper, his findings contained evidence that stunned the medical community. The revelation that embryonic stem cells can create new organs and tissue for transplantations shocked and brought hope to the world.
A stem cell is a cell which can differentiate into any other type of cell in the body. It can become a blood cell, a liver cell, or even a nerve cell. The only problem with stem cells is that they can only be found in the bone marrow of living humans or the gonadal tissue of developing fetuses. There are many people who believe that stem cells are the miracle cure for cancer, Parkinson’s, and many other terminal diseases, but there are large groups of people opposed to the use of stem cells because of the means by which they are attained. This debate will go on indefinitely, because there are prodigious amounts of support for both sides of the issue. The many benefits of stem cells out weigh the
myself, am very intrigued by stem cells and my goal is to define what they are and layout facts
Once scientists and physicians find a permanent way for stem cells to cure diseases is when the face of medicine will change. Stem cell research is very important because it could be the only resort for patients who have been diagnosed with diseases that were mentioned earlier. Stem cells can improve a person's health tremendously so hopefully this change in medicine will occur
“Heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, ALS, autism, obesity, osteoporosis, and Parkinson's disease” (Farrell and Carson-Dewitt) are some of the many diseases that have been treated with the use of embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are cells that have the possibility to migrate to the site of a medical condition and differentiate into cells that can aid and treat the specific condition or disease. The discovery of the isolation of stem cells from embryos was discovered in 1998 by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s John D. Gearhart and the University of Wisconsin’s James A. Thomson. This discovery, “was widely recognized as one of great medical and ethical importance” (Farrell
For years individuals have fought through the deadly disease we all know to be cancer. Malignant tumors, are group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade and/or spread to other parts of the human body. There are over 100 kinds of cancers and diseases in this world. Scientists has enlightened the world with a new discovery of treatment for certain diseases by using stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body because they are pluripotent. Embryonic stem cells are known to be pluripotent stem cells, which derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early stage preimplantation embryo. Human embryos reaches to the blastocyst stage. The Blastocyst stage is known to be 4 to 5 days post fertilization, which can consist of 50 to150 cells or more. Which can make a difference in the life of many based off of 150 cells. Adult stem cells are thought to be limited to differentiating into different kinds of cell types of their tissue of origin. Stems cells are not known to cure all diseases directly. They can help you with your recovery, also
As the date draws closer to my senior year, my inbox begins to fill with numerous college-related emails. The labels on them were similar, "Dear Darren, Discover your future. Sincerely, Admissions." Reflecting back, four years ago, I was a clueless freshman standing in front of a building where I would call home for the next four years. During my time at Central Catholic, I have discovered a bond of brotherhood shaping me into the character that I am today. What I learned are knowledge, what I found are family, and what I look forward to is my goal—my future.
The name of my article is “Cloned stem cells may give a new lease of
Few scientific issues in recent years have managed to draw as much attention, both scientific and otherwise, than stem cell research. I was first introduced to the term ‘stem cells’ when I was in high school, and since then, I have had a keen interest in the direction science is taking them. When considering medical research as a whole, stem cells appear to have the makings of a 21st century medical revolution a la discovery of antibiotics . The open-ended nature of stems cells has been recognized by many in the community who see these cells as the golden key for curing and ameliorating many degenerative diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, and heart disease, as well as accidental damage such as a spinal cord injury.