Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of science education
Stem cell research
The importance of science education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The importance of science education
Learning is something that I have always enjoyed from a young age. I have found that curiosity is synonymous with passion for learning and similarly observed that the process of gaining knowledge is enhanced by the complexity and relevance of a particular subject. It is for this reason that I have decided to pursue a graduate degree in regenerative biology since it is a challenging field whose relevance extends widely through its applications. My success as a scientist involves thorough understanding of the complex network of molecular processes mediated within a cell. This requires an extensive and well-established background in the field, one which I believe am prepared to successfully cultivate through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, …show more content…
I am very fascinated with genetic instability in stem cells and how this affects cell survival, proliferation and differentiation potential. At the University of Sheffield, I discovered a novel method of artificially inducing trisomy in PSCs using chromosomes derived from mouse fibroblast cells. As a graduate researcher, I plan to investigate the specific benefits and disadvantages of the observed chromosomal mutations that occur as a result of prolonged exposure of Pluripotent Stem Cells (PSCs) to culture, in an effort to discover their potential for stem cell transplantation therapies. I would also like to merge this research with bioengineering techniques and ultimately engineer biodegradable autografts for culturing stem cells. I have a firm belief in the fact that stem cell research can elucidate valuable scientific knowledge for the field of regenerative medicine and I plan to extend this research with a goal of successfully translating my findings into the clinical
Are stem cells ethical to use in medical research? The most basic cells in the human body are stem cells. Because doctors use stem cells for medical treatment of chronic ailments, stem cells play an important role in human medical research. However, despite the benefits of stem cells in medical treatment, controversy surrounds the methods employed to obtain them. Should researchers continue to use stem cells?
The AMGEN Summer Scholars research experience will contribute to my plans to become a M.D./Ph.D. candidate, and ultimately an Oncologist, by helping me develop critical and independent thinking as well as creative skills as they relate to the field of medicine. It will also help me develop a more thorough understanding of biological concepts, how they directly apply to medical treatment, and the ways in which biotechnology fuses multiple fields of science to create technologies to care for others. The opportunity to assist in creation of the technologies that will be used on my future patients will ultimately improve my ability to treat their illnesses in adaptive ways. The opportunity I would have to read, interpret, and be a part of creating
Late one night a woman is driving home on the freeway, she’s hit head on by a drunk driver and killed. The man is charged with two accounts of murder; the woman, and her four-week-old embryo inside her. By law, everyone human being is guaranteed rights of life; born or unborn they are equal. The same law should be enforced concerning human embryonic stem cell research. Dr. James A. Thomson discovered stem cells in 1998 and they’ve intrigued scientist ever since. The stem cells themselves are derived from a three to four day old cluster of cells called a blastocyst and they are so coveted because they are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into any type of cell in the human body. Although embryonic stem cells show amazing potential to cure various disease such as cancer, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophies, and more. The methods by which they are obtained is controversial. Research on embryonic stem cells is unethical, unnecessary, and purely homicide.
Stem cells are pluripotent cells of the body which are “undifferentiated.” This means that stem cells can ultimately give rise to any type of body tissue. Thus stem cells have the potential to cure a vast number of diseases and physical ailments including Parkinson’s, diabetes, spinal cord injury, and heart disease. Consequently, stem cell research and the development of associated medical applications are of great interest to the scientific and medical community. The area of stem cell research involving human embryonic stem cells is of particular interest in that embryonic stem cells are derived from week-old blastocysts developed from in vitro fertilized eggs. As opposed to adult stem cells, which must undergo a complicated process of de-differen...
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can differentiate themselves into specific cell type. There are two types of stem cells. The first one is the adult's stem cell. These stem cells can be found in various places in an adult human body, like the brain, the bone marrow or the liver. The other type of stem cells is the embryonic stem cells. These cells are found in embryos before its implantation in the mother's uterus. At this stage the embryo is divided in two types of cell. The first one is the outer cluster of cell that forms the embryo that will become part of the placenta once the embryo hatch. And the inner cluster is the source of embryonic stem cell since it consists of undifferentiated cell that will divide and differentiate to form all the organs and tissue needed in an adult organism. As stem cell are undifferentiated cell they can become whatever cell type is needed in an organism and could be the solution to diseases that are, at this date, incurable. (Medical News Today, 2013). Most of the ethic's problem of the stem cells researches come from the embryonic stem cell researches and how the cells are collected. Embryonic stem cells can be obtained in several ways. The first one is after a couple's fertility treatment, there might be some embryos left and the couple can decide to donate their embryos to research. The second option is to collect stem cells from a foetus after an abortion. And the last possibility is to use therapeutic cloning. Using an ovum from witch the nucleus was taken off and the nucleus of a somatic cell, the origin of this cell in the body doesn't matter, it can come from the skin for example, it is possible to create an embryo and get the stem cell from the created embryo. But in all of...
Stem cells have several potential applications. Stem cells can be used to study development by helping us to understand how a complex organism develops from a fertilized egg. Some of the serious medical conditions such as cancer and birth defects which are lead by abnormal cell division and differentiation will have new therapy dealing with stem cell research. Stem cells have the ability to replace damaged cells and treat disease of extensive burns, leukemia (a cancer of blood forming tissues) and other blood disorders. Today, doctor use donated tissues and organs to replace damaged tissue, but the need for the tissues and organs far outweighs the available supply. With the stem cells, it can offer the enormous sources of replacement cells and tissues. Third, stem cells could be used to study disease. Today, scientists use stem cells to model disease processes in the laboratory to better understand what goes wrong in the disease genes. Finally, stem cells could provide a resource for testing new medical treatments. Lot of new medications could be tested on specialized cells from stem cell lines which can reduce the animal testing. For example, cancer cell lines are used to screen potential anti tumor drugs to see the effects on cells.
Stem cells help us to maintain and heal our bodies, as they are undifferentiated cells, their roles are not yet determined. They have the ability to become anything during early life and growth. Stem cells come from two sources, namely: embryonic stem cells (embryo’s formed during the blastocyst phase of embryological development) and adult stem cells (see figure 3).
This paper focuses on the benefits of stem cell research in the medical and nursing field. New technology is always being created to help us understand the way the human body works, as well as ways to help us improve diseased states in the body. Our bodies have the ability to proliferate or regrow cells when damage is done to the cells. Take for example the skin, when an abrasion or puncture to the skin causes loss of our skin cells, the body has its own way of causing those cells to regrow. The liver, bone marrow, heart, brain, and muscle all have cells that are capable of differentiating into cells of that same type. These are called stem cells, and are a new medical tool that is helping regrow vital organs in our body to help us survive. Stem cells can come from adult cells, or the blastocyst of the embryo. The cells that come from these are undifferentiated, and can be specialized into certain cell types, making them available for many damaged tissues in the body. While using stem cells in the body is a main use, they are also being used to help doctors understand how disease processes start. By culturing these cells in the lab and watching them develop into muscles, nerve cells, or other tissues, researchers are able to see how diseases affect these cells and possibly discover ways to correct these diseases. While researchers have come very far in using stem cells, there are still many controversies to overcome when using these cells.
Those who favour stem cell research are optimistic about the continued developments in stem cell research will open doors to many breakthrough discoveries in biomedical science. The scientific and ethical questions arise as rapidly as the reaching of milestones in stem cell research. There are two main types of stem cells, namely embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells in our body. But they have restricted-range of cells that they can further differentiate. On the contrary, embryonic stem cells have the ability to differentiate into nearly two hundred cell types in the human body, called pluripotency. The process of harvesting embryonic stem cells involves destruction of embryos (Mooney, 2009).
My small and humble town did not afford me the opportunities to investigate the many questions I had. It was when I had received acceptance into UCLA, I knew I held a golden key. I saw my first laboratory here at UCLA and it was not long before I applied for the Biomedical Research Minor in an effort to dive headfirst and start working in one. Last year, I worked under Professor Utpal Banerjee in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology studying and elucidating a novel immunity independent inflammatory...
Thesis: Stem Cell research in Parkinson’s disease has been proven difficult due to political and scientific setbacks, but is a promising and effective treatment with those suffering from the disease. This disease has impacted my family in many ways. My father’s father passed away from pneumonia secondary to Parkinson’s Disease in May of 2017, and my mother’s mother is currently battling the disease now. Both have displayed different symptoms throughout their illness, which just shows you how tricky this disease can be. While, Parkinson’s disease isn’t necessarily fatal, the complications that arise are what makes it the 14th cause of death in the United States per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Parkinson’s Foundation).
In today’s world it may seem like there are millions of new and old diseases, but with advancing medical technology and brilliant research done by scientists involving stem cells, there are more miraculous cures, however, they are not without, great controversy. Recently, scientists have been looking into stem cells, and trying to learn what they are all about. Some of the new information people have found is incredible, and even life saving, but, there are also several problems. This is, without a doubt, a very intriguing topic, but, also very controversial.
I feel that the Stem Cell Program Manager position provides many exciting challenges that I am qualified to take on. As with any newly created position, one main challenge can be establishing a role in uncharted territory. If hired, I would plan to spend my first days learning the inner workings of the office, listening to others feedback on successes and challenges, and formulating a plan to help build momentum to drive the Stem Cell Program mission of maximizing resources to forward research and the understanding of human disease. I think it would be essential to approach things with an open mind, especially when involved with endeavours that may seem outside of the day-to-day management of the Program, such as liaising with Principle Invesitgators (PIs), as these positive exchanges can provide the most valuable pay offs to a program office.
Because cells are the ‘basic unit of life’, the study of cells, cytology, can be considered one of the most important areas of biological research. Almost every day on the evening news, we are told about new discoveries in cell biology, such as cancer research, cloning, and embryology. (https://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073031216/student_view0/exercise3/the_importance_of_cell_biology.html)
The enigma of life and the mystery of living organisms have always fascinated me. The persistent developments in the field of Biotechnology have opened up growth opportunities that are beneficial to the individual as well as the society. The perfect combination of theory and practical knowledge is required to succeed in this field. I want to be an element of innovation in this field, which is creating a better tomorrow for everyone. To do this, I need to prepare myself with mandatory knowledge that only a Masters' program can provide. I envision your university as the right stepping stone to pursue my dreams and achieve my career goals. Having been brought up in a strong and secure family, my parents have inculcated good values and principles in me. My parents’ support has always motivated me to reach my goals. Being from a family where both my parents' are highly educated and my father having done his Doctorate in Botany has always inspired me to pursue my ultimate goal of being a researcher, either in industry or in academia in this field. In the coming years, I visualize myself as a researcher or as a faculty member in one of the leading universities in the United States. I strongly believe that a Masters Degree in Biotechnology from your prestigious University will act as a crucial first step in the process of realizing my career objectives.