Stem Cell Research (HED 100)

Scott, C. (2006). Stem Cell Now. PI Press: New York, NY.

Medical BreakthroughJames Thomson, a professor at the Wisconsin

Regional Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, reported he had developed the first line of human embryonic stem cells.

--November 6, 1998 Science


What are “Stem Cells”?

Cell that has the capacity to both self-renew (make more stem cells by cell division) and differentiate into mature, specialized cells.


The Experiment that Captivated the World


Inner cells divide into three layersOne layer – inner body partsMiddle layer – muscle, bone, blood, kidneys, and sex glandsThird layer – skin, hair, and nervous tissue

Cell WorldWhite blood cells

Red blood cells

Bone cells

Nerve cells

Muscle cellsScott, C. (2006). Stem Cell Now. PI Press: New York, NY.

Review: Cell DivisionMitosis:1. Resting cell2. Chromosomes double and condense3. Duplicated chromosomes line up4. Chromosomes separate5. New nuclei form; cell divides6. Daughter cells


A Brief History of Embryonic Stem Cells


Hello “Dolly”


Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs)


Protein secreted by the layer nourish the stem cells above, providing essential nutrients and signals that dampen the urge to differentiate.

Nuclear Transfer for Therapies


Adult Stem Cells


Pros and ConsPros Cons

Stem cell research can potentially help treating a range of medical problems. It could lead us closer to cure:

Parkinson’s DiseaseAlzheimer’s DiseaseHeart Diseases, Stroke and Diabetes (Type 1)Birth DefectsSpinal Cord InjuriesReplace or Repair Damaged OrgansReduced Risk of Transplantation (You could possibly get a copy of your own heart in a heart-transplantation in the future)

"We should not mess with human life.“

Some argue that stem cell research in the far future can lead to knowledge on how to clone humans. It is hard to say whether this is true, but we have seen devastating consequences of other research, even with good intentions, such as nuclear research.


Pros and Cons (continues)Pros Cons

"The benefits of stem cell research has such a great outcome, that it outweighs the ethical issues." (Cost-benefit-analysis)

"If someone is going to have an abortion, isn’t it better that we use it for something useful?"

Adult stem cells would not be that interesting because they do not have the same properties as stem cells from a fetus.

Another often mentioned advantage is that this research would give great insights about basics of the body.

Critics against stem cell research, argue that there are ethical issues do not justify the benefits.

"A life is a life and that should never be compromised. A fertilized egg should be valued as a human life even if it is in its very first weeks. Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical."

We should (and will) develop more ethical methods (such as using adult stem cells) which will enable us to research ethically. We should wait to those methods are available.

The scientific value has been overstated or has flaws. E.g. we do not know for sure that we can use stem cells to clone organs to be transplanted to oneself.


Questions for Stem-Cell Scientists

Can nuclear transfer make cloned human cells?

Can embryonic stem cells cure Parkinson’s disease?

Can cancer be reversed?Can stem cells repair nerve damage?Can stem cells cure diabetes?


What Do You Think About Stem-Cell Research?

“Our decisions today will determine whether history regards America at the beginning of the twenty-first century as embarking on a new path of enlightenment or retreating to a dark and pessimistic time.” --Christopher Thomas Scott, author

of Stem Cell Now


TerminologiesAdult stem cell: stem cells found in different

tissues and organs of the developed animal.

Blastocyst: early human embryo consisting of approximately 100 cells.

Chromosome: DNA molecule that carries genes, the hereditary material of an organism.

Embryo: the product of a fertilized egg, from the zygote until the fetal stage.

Embryonic stem cell: cell cultured from the inner cell mass of developing blastocysts.


Terminologies

Somatic cell nuclear transfer: laboratory technique in which the nucleus of a somatic cell is injected, or transferred, into an egg that has had its nucleus removed.

Somatic cells: any cell within the developing or developed organism with the exception of egg and sperm cells.


For Your Interest Video: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/cellmovie.htm

Video: http://www.videojug.com/interview/life-extension-therapies-2#what-are-stem-cells

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp


Stem Cell Research (HED 100)

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Stem Cell Research (HED 100)