Stem Cell Research

[sharkey360]

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Let's talk about Stem Cell Research.

First, stem cell is defined as :

- a type of cell that can make any kind of cell required to build an organism. When a stem cell divides, one new cell that results can remain a stem cell while the other new cell becomes an ordinary cell with a particular function in the organism. Sometimes a stem cell that divides produces two identical stem cells. With either process, stem cells can renew themselves indefinitely. By contrast, ordinary cells can only make copies of themselves when they divide and can only divide a limited number of times. Sometimes a stem cell may divide into two ordinary cells, producing no more stem cells. The ability of stem cells to produce new cells of specific types is of special interest to medical science.

Medical researchers and other scientists study stem cells to understand basic processes in cell development and disease. The special properties of stem cells make them potentially powerful medical tools that could repair or replace diseased or injured tissues or organs in humans. Research is usually done with stem cells from mice or from humans. The study or use of stem cells derived from human embryos has led to controversy, however.



Someone here in Cebu wrote a letter favoring SCR, which got published in the Freeman some months back. Below is the online version of it.

Stem Cell Research should not be obstructed by religion and moral advocates - READER'S VIEWS By Jake Moralde | The Freeman >> The Freeman Sections >> Freeman Opinion

[unsay_ngalan_nimo]

nindot ni.. paar dili paspas mu-agae ang taw...

[fritzd]

interesting.. hehe! pero wala na gyud koy Earth ani.. huhuhuhuhuh

[jamesmusslewhite]

The use of adult stem cell research has yielded incredible advances in the medical sciences and has no real obstructions by religious or moral advocates. They include treatments for the following: corneal restoration, brain tumors, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, liver disease, leukemia, lupus, arthritis, and heart disease. Thousands of patients are treated and cured using adult stem cells. Alternative sources for adult stem cells include: placenta, cord blood, bone marrow organ donors, and possibly fat cells.

It is embryonic stem cell research that pushes those claims. As it stands not it is still a pseudoscience. The promises of ESCR are right now nothing more than hoped for possibilities. Successful clinical trials for people are years away at best. Why? The reality is that the scientific evidence so far does not support public statements. To date not real advancement have actually derived for embryonic stem cells. When injected into the test host, they will develope serious complications.
First, one minor complication is that use of human embryonic stem cells requires lifelong use of drugs to prevent rejection of the tissue.
Second, another more serious disadvantage is that using embryonic stem cells can produce tumors from rapid growth when injected into adult patients.
Third, disadvantage reported in the March 8, 2001, New England Journal of Medicine was of tragic side effects from an experiment involving the insertion of fetal brain cells into the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. Results included uncontrollable movements: writhing, twisting, head jerking, arm-flailing, and constant chewing.
Fourth, a recent report in the Journal Science reported that mice cloned from ESC were genetically defective. If human ESC are also genetically unstable, that could materially compromise efforts to transform cells extracted from embryos into successful medical therapies.
Finally, the research may be hampered because many of the existing stem cell lines were grown with the necessary help of mouse cells. If any of this research is to turn into treatments, it will need approval from the FDA, which requires special safeguards to prevent transmission of animal diseases to people. It is unclear how many of these cell lines were developed with the safeguards in place. This leads to a host of problems related to transgenic issues.
Embryonic stem cell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/he...er=rss&emc=rss
Ten Problems with Embryonic Stem Cell Research

[sharkey360]

Recent Stem Cell Research news

Japan relaxes human stem-cell rules | Ethiopian News

Stemedica Selected by World Stem Cell Summit to Present Scientific Discoveries

Christopher Reeve video on SCR

YouTube - Talking with Christopher Reeve

[sharkey360]

Director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) and his wife contributed to stem cell research in 2006

Wellington film-making couple Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have donated $500,000 (US$311,000) to the University of California's research programme on human embryonic stem cells.

"We have lost close friends and relatives to cancer and Parkinson's disease, and the level of personal suffering inflicted on patients and their families by these diseases is horrific," Jackson said today.

"Stem cell therapy has the potential to treat a multitude of diseases and illnesses, which up until now have been labelled 'incurable'."

"It has the capacity to exponentially improve the quality of life for those who currently suffer from spinal cord injury, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and many other debilitating medical conditions.

"Continuing advances in stem cell medicine will change all of our lives for the better," he said in a statement issued by the university.

The couple's money will be used by neurobiologist Hans Keirstead to create two scholarships for students who will specialise in stemcell work.

Some types of stem cells can become any of the more than 200 cells in the human body. But the US Government has opposed the use stem cells from human embryos, which some religious groups have argued is morally equivalent to abortion, and few American laboratories work with human embryonic stem cells.

The university said this meant young researchers in the US had few choices for their education and postdoctoral research, and last month Dr Keirstead announced that he would generate up to five new human embryonic stem cell lines to be used for research.

"The few labs that do work with these cells have to turn down scores of students due to the scarcity of funding, which is having a devastating effect on the future of stem cell research," said Dr Keirstead. "Peter and Fran's donation helps to address this crucial need."

Dr Keirstead studies whether stem cells can restore some movement in paralysed rodents, shedding light on possible treatments for people with spinal cord-related disabilities. In 2005, he used a treatment derived from human embryonic stem cells to improve mobility in rats with spinal cord injuries.

The donation from Jackson and Walsh will establish the Bill and Joan Jackson Scholars Fund, named after Jackson's parents, and support the stem cell research of two students for four years each.

The couple each won three Oscars for their work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and are currently adapting Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones.

Source - Peter Jackson gives $500,000 for stem cell research - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

[donna_belle]

scr? why not. nothing wrong with it. if its for a good result why object to it.

[grovestreet]

what are your opinions on adult stem cell?

YouTube - An Introduction to Adult Stem Cells

hehe wala sad ko alamags ani.

[tripwire]

scr? why not. nothing wrong with it. if its for a good result why object to it.

I agree with you sis. But many "pro-lifers" believe that human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person at the time of fertilization. They view the killing of any embryo in order to extract its stem cells to be a form of homicide. They are generally opposed to such research. Others disagree. They believe that an embryo has the potential to develop into a person, but is not a person itself. They note that an embryo is not sentient; it has no brain, sensory organs, ability to think, memory, awareness of its surroundings, consciousness, internal organs, arms, legs, head, etc. They feel that research using stem cells derived from embryos is ethical. Fortunately, if iPS cell technology develops as expected, it will eventually replace the need to derive stem cells from embryos.

what are your opinions on adult stem cell?

YouTube - An Introduction to Adult Stem Cells

hehe wala sad ko alamags ani.

Adult stem cells bear some similarities to embryonic stem cells. Research using adult cells has a two decade head start on embryonic stem cells. Thus, potential treatments have already advanced to human trial stage. Unfortunately, adult cells are limited in flexibility, and are only capable of developing into a few of the cell types.