STEM CELL RESEARCH

Stem cell research

Stem cell research

Introduction

Stem cell study is the future of medicine. Stem cells contain the therapies to numerous infections, such as diabetes, paralysis and perhaps even cancer. However, arise cells are a foremost issue in the United States at this present time. There are numerous persons for and against the study of these precious cells, in which scientists have only just begun to explore. One can see through revising these astonishing cells that they hold much significance and to completely understand them a person should step into the research lab and observe their greatness. The main inquiry is what are stem cells and what future do they contain for patients pain incurable diseases and injuries?



Body: Discussion and Analysis

"In 1988, the Stanford professor of pathology and cancerous diseaseous disease biology, Irving Weissman, reported having isolated blood-forming stem cells from mice" (Embryonic). This was the starting of stem cell research. This was the period where scientists knew they had the ability to research stem cells and know that they were not hunting for something that wasn't there. After Weissman's accomplishments in 1988, "four years later in 1992 he isolated stem cells from humans" (Embryonic). These amazing achievements were extremely rewarded with the hopes that stem cells would help cure or treat patients with such diseases as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, patients who have been paralyzed, and maybe even victims of cancers.

To understand what stem cells are you must know what they do. As defined by the Webster Dictionary, "a stem cell is an unspecialized cell that gives rise to differentiated cells". "A differentiated cell is a cell that is concentrated for a certain facet of the body, such as heart cells or liver apartments" (Stem Cell Basics).

Stem cells have two important characteristics that differentiate them from other types of cells. First, they are unspecialized cells that renew themselves for long time span through cell division. The second is that under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become cells with special functions such as the drubbing cells of the heart sinew or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas (Stem Cell Basics).

The stem cells being explained in the above quote are adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are one of two types of stem cells. "mature person arise units are units that every healthy individual has that refurbish cells that die through every day use" (Stem Cell Basics). Such cells include that of the skin and the lining of the stomach. The other type of stem cell is embryonic stem cells. "Embryo, pertaining to the fetus conceived when a sperm and egg cell connect, starts off with dividing up units, which are undifferentiated at this time. As this embryo reaches a certain number of these undifferentiated cells, something magnificent occurs. These cells become specialized to develop into vital organs and bones" (Stem Cell Basics). Scientists are now trying to discover what are the circumstances that make these cells become specific cells to create the skin, ...