Our bodies are the ultimate factory. Every cell has a specific job to do and a shape to perform that job perfectly. A muscle cell is a muscle cell. A nerve cell will only ever be a nerve cell. And a red blood cell can only ever be just that. The fate of each cell is determined during the embryo stage and then can not be changed. However, cutting edge research made a major discovery for modern science. There are these unique cells that exist called stem cells. These cells have the ability to become any type of cell because they are not yet specialized. Scientists were hugely surprised by their discovery because they can be used to repair damaged organs, bones, or cartilage. They can also be used to help treat diseases, such as by making new brain cells to treat people with Parkinson's disease. Or they could be used to repair damaged immune systems, and even reverse paralysis and regrow lost limbs.
The discovery of stem cells is huge for modern medicine and could have a massive impact. There are two different types of stem cells in humans, embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells are unspecialized and can develop into any type of cell. Adult stem cells are also unspecialized, but while they can develop into many types of cells, they cannot develop into every type of cell, unlike embryonic ones. Adult stem cells come from tissues such as bone marrow while embryonic stem cells, as in the name, can be removed from unused embryos, such as those left over from fertility treatments. One big social and ethical debate is therapeutic cloning. This is the concept of cloning a patient by growing an embryo from the cloned cells and then extracting stem cells from the embryo to grow a specific organ needed by the patient. This is particularly useful because the patient's body would not reject this organ since it was made from the patient's own cells. The ethical debate focuses on several questions, such as “when does life start”, “is the embryo alive”, and “are scientists just playing God?”
While many social and ethical considerations need to be taken into account, the discovery of stem cells offers large potential for medicine and biotechnology. A lot of research was, and still is, needed to find out exactly how they work and how we can control them to do what we want, rather than grow uncontrollably.
Posted by “Timinte Abraham” (6)
References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2323472/
I did a presentation on stem cells in high school, but I still think stem cells as a concept are really cool. Their potential applications in medicine have no yet been realized for sure as a result of sheer complexity and ethics. Hopefully stem cells can be a huge medical breakthrough on the level of germ theory or penicillin some day.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you bring these possible areas stem cells can help with because when I was going through articles to base my blog post on I ran into some information on stem cells and germ theory. A lot of the information was really dense so I didn't think it would make for a good blog, but it was interesting how interconnected stem cells and embryonic germ cells are.
DeleteI agree the use of stem cells offers significant potential in the field of medicine but it definitely raises some ethical issues. There will have to be legislation to keep this technology only for medical purposes and not just designing humans.
ReplyDelete-Zach Conant
I agree that there is a line scientists can't cross in regards to genetic design and production. Where that line falls is somewhat a battle as of right now, but I think this type of medical research can help in the future.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that stem cell research has a positive impact in the medical field, and it was interesting to read about the possibilities of its potential.
- Tugba Kahveci
I'm glad you found it interesting! I think I want eventually do some research on stem cells but there are a couple of other things I'm considering.
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