Stem cells are very unique cell and have many uses in the world today. There are many unique properties of all stem cells which are very interesting. One property of stem cells are they have four different classes of cell, which are, totipotent, multipotent, pluripotent, and unipotent. This is interesting that there are so many types of stem cells and they each have different properties. Another property of these stem cells are, they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods of time. Whenever cells can divide themselves that is called proliferation, which if they can divide for many months these cells can make millions of cells. Furthermore, stem cells are unspecialized meaning they cannot work with their neighbors to …show more content…
Stem cells have a high significance in medicine, for example, trying to find a way to replace any tissue or cells that have been damaged. To be able to replace these damaged organs it could save many lives and help many people in the long run. Also, with the right research we could be able to replicate this process and create new cells, tissue, and organs. Being able to create these new things scientists could save lives and help many people who are in …show more content…
Another challenge is how to reduce contamination and prevent contamination risks because working with stem cells can cause cancer from all the contamination. Subsequently, sometimes the cell created for the person their immune system rejects the stem cell. There can also be infection with trying to get the stem cells to replace damaged limbs and organs. Side effects are another big part of the stem cells, people who get the cells put in them can face some serious side effects that could hurt them. Another challenge would be, how to isolate and identify stem cells from the tissue that is going to be used to help these people in need.
Collecting methods by scientists of stem cells are putting the person under anesthetics and using many needles to get bone marrow, usually the pelvis. With this method the donor won't feel a thing until after a couple for days. Another type of harvest is the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell where the people take blood and use the stem cells and the rest of the blood goes into the other arm. Scientist use stem cell to restore tissue or organs which have been damaged or lost, saving many
For example, Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that is caused by brain cell death. Alzheimer’s does not have a cure, and the only treatment for it is medication that will slow the death of cells. However, if embryonic stem cells were used, they could replace and, theoretically, stop the death of brain cells, which would in turn, halt the disease. So overall, this treatment could dramatically benefit patients struggling through diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and diabetes. Furthermore, the increase of quality of life for these living people is more than worth the possible destruction of a cluster of
Many people argue that the embryo dies from this, which is why I thought I was going to be against this. But, there ways that stem cell research can be done without killing embryos. Also, the research from this could potentially lead to the cure of cancer which would save millions of lives. One of the biggest
As mentioned before, the benefits of stem cells could be used to treat a myriad of different health complications that a major portion of the population in the world faces today. If the treatment of disease were explored through the research of stem cells, the quality of life for those impacted by the multitude of health problems that exist would vastly improve. In Franklin Roosevelt’s second Bill of Rights, he lists “self-evident” economic rights that every person in the nation should have, despite their
Today, our technology is advancing at an ever increasing rate. Science and medicine are making breakthroughs that improve everyone’s quality of life. Life saving medicine, previously limited to the realm of science fiction, is within our grasp. And part of that future is due in part to the amazing research being done with stem cells. However, there are laws in place that prevent scientists from getting as much use as possible from cells derived from embryos, which is the most abundant source.
According to NIH scientists are just beginning to understand the signals inside and outside cells that trigger each step of the differentiation process. The internal signals are controlled by the gene’s of the cell, while the external signals that cause differentiation include chemicals that are secreted by the neighboring cells, physical contact with neighboring cells, and certain molecules in the nearby environment or in this case the nearby microenvironment. Scientists are currently still doing research about stem cells. Currently they are trying to answer two questions. Those questions are: Why can embryonic stem cells proliferate for a year or more in the laboratory without differentiating, but most adult stem cells cannot; and what are the factors in living organisms that normally regulate stem cell proliferation and self-renewal?
Stem cells have the potential to cure specific diseases such as Parkinson 's, Alzheimer 's, Diabetes, and Cancer. A few years ago, you could only get stem cell transplants from specific doctors, But as of 2015 there are 170 clinics that can do the procedure. The way that they implant the stem cells into the patient 's body is by putting the cells straight into the bloodstream or by inserting the cells into the patient 's bone marrow. They extract all of the stem cells that they need and then they take out the patient 's dead stem cells and put in the donor 's healthy stem cells.
This process provides a safe alternative to embryonic cells, as the stem cells did not produce tumors. Adult stem cells are also being found in more tissues than ever thought (Stem cell Basics). This would allow many different uses of the adult stem cells, as they can only form certain major cell types of a tissue or
Adult (also known as somatic) stem cells are thought to be an undifferentiated (a cell that has not yet developed into another cell variation) cell. They found throughout the body after embryonic development has occurred, and these cells are found in tissues such as the brain, blood, blood vessels and marrow, the skin, skeletal muscles and the liver. The main roles of adult stem cells are to repair and maintain the tissue in which they are found. Embryonic Stem Cells Embryonic stem cells come from human embryo that is in the blastocyst phase, which is defined as an embryo that has developed for five to seven days after fertilization and has 2 distinct cell types and a central cavity filled with fluid (Sherbahn, 2016).
For new cells to be created, some cells have to die and people understood the gist of the concept, however they did not understand how it exactly worked. Cells are created with a purpose and in a certain way. There are over hundreds types of cells in our bodies. Scientist Sydney Brenner
iii. Improved Health Care for Future Generations Some medical experts have opined that the advent of stem cell research could be the greatest development when it comes to eradication of the human race’s suffering and pain since the invention of antibiotics. iv. Millions Have Benefited There are several diseases and ailments that have been thought to be curable and scientists are working around the clock to locate these cures. C. Cons of stem cell research i. Ethical Conflicts Now that scientists are using much more ethical methods to perform stem cell research, many of the old battle cries have begun to fade away.
Stem cells have created a big interest in the past ten years. Some stem cells like bone marrow are limited to what it can do but it has no ethical problems like the embryonic stem cells. These cells are currently getting studied to be able to help with heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, organ reconstruction and so much more. Stem cells will be very
Receiving the stem cells from bone marrow can be very painful, but if people of the same blood type donate the blood from the umbilical cord or placenta could save others from the painful procedure. Nationalcordbloodprogram.org states that, “Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood - red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. But it is also rich in hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow.” Many disease have already been treated with the stems cells from cord blood. “More than 80 different diseases have been treated to date with unrelated cord blood transplants” (nationalcordbloodprogram.org).
It seems as if stem cells are an ideal solution to discovering new scientific breakthroughs. However, there is a debate at large about the ethics of stem cell research. When stems cells are harvested, the embryo in which they inhabit is destroyed. There are both liberal and conservative views on the matter. Left government believes that the use of embryonic stem cells in research should progress, that an embryo is not a human.
Many people view this as destroying a potential for life to futher scientific research and knowledge. A lot of the opposition to stem cell research comes from the moral belief that human life begins at conception and some see it that destroying an embryo for medical research or even to treat another human is morally the same as killing a human child or adult for research. Many people with these views are strongly religious Roman Catholics or Orthodox