Essay: Benefits of Stem Cell Research Stem cells are cells that have not differentiated into a specific type of cell and can become any part of the body that is needed (Stem cells and diseases, ). There are three different ways for scientists and doctors to harvest stems cells Oct 09, · Stem cells research has opened a wide range of opportunities for medicine. Using stem cells, specialists can replace damaged tissues and organs, test new drugs safely, correct parts of organs, and provide researches of genetic defects and cancer. Another use of stem cells is therapy. Surprisingly, they can even be used to treat mental diseases!Estimated Reading Time: 10 mins Stem Cell Research: The Benefits of Stem Cells Essay. Benefits of Stem Cell Research. Words | 3 Pages. Benefits of Stem Cell research The stem cell research has been controversial issue for several The Benefits Of Embryonic Stem Cell Research. The Benefits of Stem Cell Research Essay
The Benefits of Stem Cell Research
In many of my previous posts, I have mentioned that one of the reasons that I am so benefits of stem cell research essay about stem cell research is the possibility that terminal or debilitating diseases can be cured.
One of the main issues with the disease is that the symptoms appear gradually and then worsen as the disease progresses, benefits of stem cell research essay. This technique involves the implantation of stem cells into the dead nerve or brain cells. The mice even began to regain motor functions that were lost before the treatment. Photo Source. Although the findings in the study are very promising a lot more research will be needed to determine if the technique is safe and is possible in humans before this technique can be used.
However, the medical community is excited about this finding since it is one step closer to a cure. During the late stages of the disease, control of motor functions is lost completely. The exact symptoms associated with this loss depends on the individual case. However, the most common symptoms are tremors benefits of stem cell research essay the hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face, slowed movement, benefits of stem cell research essay, stiffness in the limbs and neck, and impaired balance and coordination.
Scientists do not know the exact cause of the disease, but they have determined that genetics and environmental triggers play a role. The environmental triggers include elements such as toxins that the body is exposed to. Personally, I am excited about the findings that were published on Monday. Since I am intending to pursue a career in stem cell research, this benefits of stem cell research essay shows the impact that can be made by the field, benefits of stem cell research essay.
However, there is still many questions about the impact that stem cells can make in diseases. The only way to answer these questions is to perform more research and determine if the stem cells are truly regenerating the dead brain and nerve tissue. In all of my past blog posts, I have discussed stem cell benefits of stem cell research essay and even the controversy surrounding it, but today I will be discussing several myths and misconceptions that society has involving stem cell research.
Many times these myths and misconceptions arise because opposition groups are trying to persuade supporters that the practice is unethical.
One of the many misconceptions of stem cell research is that funded research is not performed ethically. The funded researchers at the agency must comply with regulations developed in accordance to national and international research standards for stem cell research.
These regulations were actually one of the first sets of regulations involving stem cell research and are in accordance with the guidelines from the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Another one of the major misconceptions surrounding stem cell research is where the embryos are coming from that are used in embryonic stem cell research. Currently, the embryos being used in the research are four to five day old embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures. If the embryos are not donated to embryonic stem cell research, the embryos are usually destroyed.
Some embryos used in stem cell research are also from embryos that are not chosen for in vitro fertilization procedures because the embryos will have genetic defects such as cystic fibrosis or Tay Sachs disease. These benefits of stem cell research essay defects are discovered during routine genetic testing performed before the in vitro fertilization process.
If the embryos were not donated to embryonic stem cell research, benefits of stem cell research essay, they would have been discarded and destroyed. There is also an extensive consent program that is utilized to ensure that people who donate leftover embryos to the research process are fully aware of what embryonic stem cell research involves. Also under state, national, and international regulations, human embryonic stem cell lines cannot be created without the full consent of the donor.
The main myth with embryonic stem cell research is that the only way to conduct stem cell research is to destroy the embryo. There is actually a process that an embryonic stem cell research can use that preserves the embryo and does not destroy it.
This method creates the stem cell lines by removing benefits of stem cell research essay one cell from the embryo and that one cell is used to create the cell line.
The process of only removing one cell from the embryo is the same procedure utilized for embryonic genetic testing that is done in the normal in vitro fertilization process. The final myth that I am going to disprove in this post is that stem cell research will eventually lead to a cloning process. This is impossible since every regulatory and advising programs involving stem cell research explicitly ban the use of stem cells for reproductive cloning.
The National Academy of Sciences and the International Society for Stem Cell Research has even issued guidelines banning the cloning technique. If the wrong information is received by the government, the desperately needed funding for stem cell research can be eliminated.
The amount of graduate programs in the field of stem cell research is increasing since the interest in stem cell research careers is also increasing. There are a few undergraduate programs for the topic, but many of the recent programs have been PhD programs. The University of Minnesota has a stem cell biology training program as well as a PhD level minor in stem cell biology.
The training program takes place before graduate school and involves both coursework and hands-on training in the laboratory. Mentors in the program also create unique training programs for each individual in the program to ensure success in the workforce. The PhD level minor is made available to graduate students in the fields of Neuroscience, Pharmacology, benefits of stem cell research essay, and Bioengineering that have an interest in stem cell biology.
The minor also requires that a main research project be conducted by the student in a stem cell biology laboratory. Washington University in St. Louis has a PhD program through their Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences in Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology. The program focus on students that want to become either a developmental biologist or a stem cell researcher. The unique component of the PhD program, however, is that the university requires all applicants to take a qualifying exam from the university as a part of the admissions process.
The exam is a ninety minute oral exam where three faculty members quiz the applicant on developmental biology, genetics, cell biology, nucleic acids, and protein translation. University of Southern California has a masters degree program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. It is also the first masters degree program in the United States involving stem cell research. The program was started inand the picture below is from the first class of students in the masters program.
The program is a one year program that offers courses in developmental biology, human embryology, regenerative medicine, and stem cell technology. There are over sixty labs that are involved with USC Stem Cell which runs the stem cell research facility at the University of Southern California. The goal of the program is to make students competitive applicants for either medical school or PhD programs and competitive employees in the stem cell pharmaceutical industry.
The program involves students taking twenty-five credits of courses in one year, but an optional second year for additional courses can be completed if a student wishes to extend their education. The courses include seminars, classes on current topics in the various fields outlined in the paragraph above, and courses where students speak about the research they are currently conducting in their respective laboratories.
Now that I have briefly talked about three different graduate programs, you may be wondering why these programs are so important. Stem cell research is such a new area of expertise that many of the important advances in the field were not discovered until the late s and the early s. This means that there are many scientific viewpoints of stem cells that have yet to be discovered.
Graduate programs in stem cell research and stem cell biology are necessary so that the next generation of stem cell researchers can be properly trained to work in the field. As I mentioned in my previous post, my journey in discovering my passion for stem cells has led to my pursuit of becoming a stem cell researcher, benefits of stem cell research essay.
So, what is a stem cell researcher? Researchers in the field conduct experiments that lead to a deeper understanding of cells and diseases. The primary goal of a stem cell researcher, however, is to understand how the regeneration process in stem cells that can repair damaged tissues can be controlled. Once the regeneration process is able to be controlled, then organs or tissues can be grown in a laboratory by the researchers so that damaged organs or tissues can be replaced.
In a general sense, a PhD is a requirement for becoming a stem cell researcher. The PhD is usually in one of the biological sciences, like molecular biology.
In fact, many universities in the United States are now offering PhD programs that specialize in stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Stanford University was one of the first programs in the nation to develop one of these PhD programs.
Besides a curriculum that is specialized for this benefits of stem cell research essay career, the program offers both a research program and rotation opportunities. Both of these are meant to alleviate the stress of finding lab experience in the field. Another requirement for becoming a stem cell researcher is having extensive experience working in a laboratory setting. Most of the experience in the lab will come from your graduate and post-doctoral research laboratories.
However, some aspects of the career may require research experience outside of the educational setting. However, there is another major career in the field of stem cells that is not as well known. Besides your traditional medical doctor, there are doctors that specialize just in regenerative stem cell medicine.
These doctors have become known as regenerative stem cell doctors. The field of regenerative stem cell doctors is relatively new, since most of the major discoveries involving stem cells were discovered in the late s and early s. However, the main goal of these doctors is to utilize the application of stem cells with the goal of healing patients since stem cells are already found in the body and can be considered a renewable source. Stem cells also have tremendous healing potential which I highlighted in previous posts.
The extent that stem cells can be used to treat patients is still unknown since it is such a new area of research. However, the scientific discoveries that have been made so far suggest that stem cells can be used in patients to treat neurological benefits of stem cell research essay, traumatic brain injuries, diabetes, cancer, and many more ailments.
Many regenerative stem cell doctors are involved in clinical trials since many of the current medical discoveries need to be tested on more patients until it is determined that stem cells have the ability to treat the specific symptom or disease that is being targeted.
The clinical trials are also occurring in all three areas of stem cells, embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and stem cells from other species. The clinical trials also incorporate patients with autoimmune diseases and genetic blood diseases. Regenerative stem cell doctors can also be involved in cancer research and pharmaceutical product development for various types of diseases, benefits of stem cell research essay.
Most people can pinpoint the exact moment that they found their passion in life. My passion started in my ninth grade biology class when we were assigned to research what stem cell research is and the ethical debate behind it. Some of the debate mentioned in that assignment was whether stem cell research was the same concept as cloning, benefits of stem cell research essay. What started out as another assignment ended up igniting my passion for molecular biology and subsequently stem cell research.
Right before the assignment was introduced, my benefits of stem cell research essay teacher used Dolly the Sheep to introduce cloning. This was due to both topics encompassing the field of genetics. So, what about the assignment sparked my interest in the field of stem cell research?
Both of my parents are in health-care professions so medicine interested me from a young age. Reading scientific articles about how stem cell researchers believe they can cure terminal or chronic illness immediately grabbed my attention. I was amazed that something so ground-breaking could be so controversial especially in the realms of politics and religion, benefits of stem cell research essay.
At that time, I believed that I wanted to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering so that I could design prosthetics. However, I went out of my comfort zone in my sophomore year of high school when my chemistry teacher decided after three days of having me as a student that he wanted me to perform a benefits of stem cell research essay project stimulating controlled-release therapy of drugs using only pineapple juice and gelatin.
5 Things you should know about stem cell research
, time: 2:16Benefits of stem cell research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - words
Essay: Benefits of Stem Cell Research Stem cells are cells that have not differentiated into a specific type of cell and can become any part of the body that is needed (Stem cells and diseases, ). There are three different ways for scientists and doctors to harvest stems cells Apr 13, · Stem cell research may also allow scientists to discover more information about the cause of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists do not know the exact cause of the disease, but they have determined that genetics and environmental triggers play a role. The environmental triggers include elements such as toxins that the body is exposed to Because of this, stem cell research is critical to the continued growth of science and medicine. Therefore, there should be increased funding for stem cell research and less restrictions in order for stem cells to reach their full potential. Stem cells offer people hope by promising to extend the number of patients who could benefit from treatments to combat debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s,
No comments:
Post a Comment