Stem cells are used every day throughout the United States to help cure diseases and save lives. Stem cells can also be used to study labor defects so that future birth deficiencies can be prevented or reversed. Although as a college student starting a family may not be on your mind yet, it is always beneficial to educate yourself on current trends and new discoveries in stem cell research.
Andres Travino and his wife were excited when their son Andy was born ten years ago. Andy prayed and hoped for a healthy baby despite the fact that his wife was a carrier of a genetic gene called NEMO, which caused the immune system to fail. Unfortunately soon after their son was born he was diagnosed with NEMO. They did not know what to do and temporarily began to lose hope. They took several trips to the doctor’s office when finally a doctor suggested bone marrow stem cell transplant to substitute parts of his immune system that would help him fight infections. However, the success rate for the procedure depended on the compatibility of the donor; and after searching for two long years they could not find a match. Finally they decided to have another child so that they could use the cells from her umbilical cord to cure their son. In the beginning the treatment was not working but after a few more cells were transplanted Andy was cured.
The coordinators of Stem Cell basics explain that, “Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth” (par. 1). When a stem cell splits it can stay a stem cell or become a specific cell, such as a brain cell or muscle cell. A stem cell can also divide to restore and exchange out damaged tissues. “Given their unique regenerative ab...
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What are Stem Cells and what do they do? Stem cells are cells made of the bodies “raw materials” and are the only type of cells in the body that have “a natural ability to generate new cell types.”(“Stem Cell Transplant”) Stem Cells have the potential to treat or cure a wide range of diseases and disorders, such as: Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc., that affect billions of people worldwide. With a subject such as embryonic stem cell research, whether or not the costs outweigh the benefits is subjective and the cost of life is impossible to measure.
Benefits of stem cell research can be overwhelming. Today, millions of people around the world suffer from incurable diseases. Stem cell research could help the scientific community find a breakthrough in developing a cure. By observing stem cells develop into mature human tissue, scientists can better understand how embryos develop. “Normal” human development can be recorded. This knowledge can be used to help prevent birth defects, for instance.
Reaves, J. (2001, July 11). The great debate over stem cell research. Time, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,167245,00.html
The President’s Council on Bioethics published “Monitoring Stem Cell Research” in 2004. This report was written in response to President Bush’s comments regarding research of human stem cells on August 9, 2001. President Bush announced that he was going to make federal funding available for research that involved existing lines of stem cells that came from embryos. He is the first president to provide any type of financial support for the research of human stem cells. A Council was created with people who are educated in the field of stem cells to help monitor the research and to recommend guidelines and consider the ethical consequences that this research could create. This report is an “update” given by the President’s Council in January of 2004 to make the public aware of the significant developments in the science and medical aspects of stem cell research. It also describes the ethical, legal and political implications that stem cell research may create. However, since the research is still in its beginning stages, this “update” does not describe a complete or definitive study of stem cells nor does it provide specific guidelines or regulations. This is a report that is suppose to help the President, Congress and general public make better-informed decisions as to the direction that we should go with stem cells.
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.
Scott, Christopher Thomas. Stem Cell Now: From the Experiment That Shook the World to the
Information on the Nation Institutes of Health government website teaches us that there are many benefits and possibility that can come from the research of stem cells. Studying them can help researchers understand the transformation of cells during the development inside the womb. With this we can estimate when birth defects take place thus making prevention possible.
Research on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This promising area of science is also leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is often referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine. There is genuine scientific excitement over the concept of using the body's own cellular building blocks to regenerate damaged or ageing organs. Stem cells are one of the most fascinating areas of biology today. But like ...
The issue of stem cell research first began on the scientific scene in November of 1998 when researchers first reported the isolation of human embryonic stem cells. The discovery, made by Dr. James A. Thomson, a biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, offered great promise for new ways of treating diseases through stem cell use. The stem cells, which are derived from several-day-old embryos, can theoretically differentiate into virtually any type of human cell, ranging from blood cells to skin cells (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011). According to the American Medical Association (2013), a stem cell is an immature cell that has the potential to become specialized into different types of cells throughout the body. There are two basic types of stem cells: adult stems cells and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are produced when a newly fertilized egg begins...
Stem cells are amazing cells that all humans possess throughout their bodies. In today’s world of science, stem cells have become important factors in scientific research. Research with stem cells has been increasing exponentially over the last decade. Around the world, stem cells have been studied to help treat various health problems. The extent to what stem cell research can do is very wide reaching. The existence of stem cells was theorized by Alexander Maximow in the late 1800s. He believed that cells originated from a one type of cell. He was not far off with this theory.
Stem cell research is the study of growth, use, and termination of human embryos. There are two main types of stem cells; the most common is embryotic cells and the other is an adult stem cell. The need and popularity of stem cell research is growing due to the advancements of technology and the growth and influx of sickness and disease. Stem cells are looked upon as an almost miracle treatment and have the potential to grow into a whole new type of cell research.
Stem cells are a large focus of study in today's biomedical world. Stem cell research offers the hope of transplants being done without the sacrifice of another person losing an organ. There are many different pros and cons when it comes to discussing the use of stem cells.
Monroe, Kristen, et al., eds. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical and Political Issues. Los Angeles/Berkley: University of California Press, 2008. Print
One of the most popular clinical studies being researched these days is stem cell transplantation. Until recently, moral issues of states and countries haven't allowed research to expound deeply into the unknowns. Within the last ten years though, scientists have made leaps and bounds in finding out concrete facts that this stem cell research has supplied. Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health Services states, "I believe it will open up a world of opportunity for scientists, not only at the NIH, but elsewhere, because it demonstrates a cooperative atmosphere among academia, the private sector, and government that will allow us to move ahead" ("sign stem"1). New ways of conducting stem cell research have made the healing and repairing treatment for many diverse applications.
Stem cells are a key component of regenerative medicine. They are undeveloped cells capable of proliferation, self renewal, conversion to differentiated cells, and regenerating tissues. [1] In a developing