The Effects Of Simulated Microgravity On Embryonic Stem Cells

Many of us have all heard the saying that a “lizard can lose its tail,” and bizarrely enough it will grow back. This was always considered impossible for humans, an idea belonging in the realm of science fiction, but now the regeneration of tissue is an extremely realistic possibility. Despite some opinions, this process does not happen naturally, or take place as cinematically as one might imagine. Over the past decade, there have been major advances in regenerative medicine, commonly known as stem cell research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells within the body that have the capability to specialize into any tissue. They are most commonly found in cord blood, bone marrow, organ donations, placenta, and embryos . Stem cells are seen by some as a new miracle treatment, encouraging many countries to invest in their research.

“…Her cells went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity, they helped with some of the most important advances in medicine: the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization.” (Skloot, 2) The only reason any of these discoveries occurred was because of the success of Dr. George Gey in 1951. His success in culturing the first immortal human cells led to multiple advances in the medical field. Other scientists and researchers utilized and learned his success; expanding and creating medicine and the medical field we know today. Dr. Gey’s extremely influential discovery proves that you can in fact learn from success. Not only learn, but also flourish.

this research would be to identify the factors that are involved in the cell making process that determines cell specialization. A few of our extreme medical conditions, like birth defects and cancer, are a direct result of abnormal cell specialization. If researchers obtain a better understanding of the normal cellular process, they can isolate the causes of these deadly illnesses. The most exciting potential use for stem cells is the generation of tissues and cells. Many diseases are a direct result from complications of cellular functions or destruction of tissues in the body. Many people donate organs and tissues to replace failing or destroyed tissues. Unfortunately, there are many more people suffering from these disorders than there are organs to transplant. That is where stem cells step in. They will give humans a chance to have a renewable source of cells and tissues that will treat a slue of diseases, and disabilities such as, Parkinson’s, stroke, burns, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and

Many scientists believe that embryonic stem cell (ESC) research is the key to curing diseases such as cancer and HIV. Stem cells are so important to biomedical research because they are primitive cells that are capable of replicating indefinitely producing a multitude of different types of cells. This means that one of these pre-determined cells has to potential of becoming any range of over two hundred tissues with epithelial cells to blood and

Stem cells are cells with the potential to become any type of cell in the body. There are two different types of stem cells: adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells are very valuable and are used mainly to treat blood diseases, but sometimes adult stem cells from the brain are used to treat neurological diseases. Adult stem cells can also be difficult to recognize in the adult body. Embryonic stem cells are more flexible than adult stem cells and can be used for a bigger variety of diseases (California’s Stem Cell Agency,2011). Some people do not believe in the use of embryonic stem cells, because they believe they are killing future life. Despite the controversy over how stem cells are gathered, stem cells have undeniable

and plenty of other degenerative diseases while the cure lies in our hands? After James Thompson, a developmental biologist, reported that he had derived the first human embryonic stem cell line (Thomson), the potential of curing degenerative diseases was revealed. Ph.D. holder and deputy director of FDA’s office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Stephanie Simek, explains that stem cells are unspecialized cells (qtd. in “FDA Warns About Stem Cell Claims”). In other words, since they are unspecialized cells, they can “…generate lots of cells and, under the right conditions, become one of the many cell types

Additionally, embryonic stem cells have allowed drug testing to be made safer. It allows scientists to test the drugs on cells that are better representations of human cells than the previous test subjects, which were animals. Embryonic stem cells also allow scientists to study human development within the embryonic stage, and cellular reactions to disease. This means that because these cells are actual human cells, they will react to disease and disorders in the same fashion as the cells within human people. By looking at this reaction and development, researchers gain a clearer understanding of what these disorders are, how they affect human development, and possible treatments, cures, or preventative measures. Another point of progress for

Embryonic stem cells research is a very conflicting subject in the United States. Some people think that it is morally and religiously incorrect as they are killing a human life at the first stage of life. While some think it is ok because the human life to them starts at the fetus or when the fetus can feel pain. In this paper we are going to discuss the total aspect of embryonic stem cell research: how the government takes play in the study of embryonic stem cells, how embryonic stem cells have help out people so far, and what are embryonic stem cells. Hopefully with this research we will have a better understanding of embryonic stem cells and why some people may benefit from it, as it may help to cure some diseases. Maybe we can come

Embryonic Stem Cell Research holds the key to unlocking cures for many currently considered “incurable” diseases and even though Embryonic Stem Cell Research holds the potential to alleviate malicious disabilities, replacing harmful cancer cells and regrowing new tissue; with a little guidance from scientist. Embryonic Stem Cell Research is one of the biggest controversial topic centered primarily on the ethical implications of the destruction and use of the embryos during research. Since Stem Cells are the source of all tissues in our body, understanding how they develop and work will give scientists a better understanding in human biology, in health and sickness.

“Through the isolation and manipulation of cells, scientists are finding ways to identify young, regenerating ones that can be used to replace damaged of dead cells in diseased organs. This therapy is similar to the process of organ transplant, only the treatment consists of the transplantation of cells rather than organs. The cells that have shown by far the most promise of supplying diseased organs with healthy cells are called stem cells.” (Chapter Preface)

“The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia” (Thomson &Yu, 2006). As stated by Junying Yu and James A. Thomson, it is true that embryonic stem cells are very adaptable and hold many mysteries in medical science, but why are they so heavily debated upon? Embryonic stem cells, or pluripotent cells, are cells derived from embryos that have the potential to become any bodily cell. Research of these cells allows us to understand human development and how disorders or illnesses form as people grow older. The main controversy that surrounds

The issue at discussion in this report is ESCR (embryonic stem cell research) and current use. This issue causes controversial concerns because the first isolation of the embryo was in 1998, which is still very recent and the policies around it are grey areas. Many countries including the United States of America have removed funding because of issues that have risen due to religious, ethical and legal formalities. Some of the benefits that ESC (embryonic stem cells) promise are the cure for many diseases and even the creation of organs between other scientific advances that could save numerous lives. The benefits that ESC could provide are sometimes questioned to be worth all the ethical issues that they bring. Some

The human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have defined by Bryant and Schwartz (2008) is in the mammalian embryo, there are several cell divisions that take place after the fertilization of the sperm and the egg in the uterus. There is no growth in the total volume of the cell, so the cells that are known as blastomeres get progressively smaller. Then, they are rearranging into a hollow ball known as blastocyst and surround the blastocoel which is a fluid-filled cavity. The blastocyts and then segregate into an outer layer called tropoblast and an inner cell mass (ICM). The tropoblast will form the placenta to the fetus while the inner cell mass that contains human embryonic stem cell will form the tissues of the fetus. According to Sandel and Phil (2004), the hESCs can cure and provide treatment for many kinds of disease such as Parkinson, Alzheimer, diabetes and spinal cord injury. But, ethical issues of hESCs research, therefore, overlap with those of the embryo research. On top of that, De Wert and Mummery (2003) commented that the research of hESCs has high political and ethical agenda in many countries. Their use in the treatment of disease remains controversial regardless of their potential benefit. This is because their derivation from the early embryo. As Fischbach, Fischbach and others (2004) observe:

Previous experiments have been done on the physical challenges astronauts face during space travel. In microgravity, there is an increased loss of bone minerals with a concentrated bone loss in the pelvic

The scientific approaches and supported by evidence-based research to provide a brief description of the human body response to zero gravity in this paper.