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mercredi 13 février 2019

What Stem Cell Research Facilities Do And Why You Should Get Excited About It

By Christopher Wood


It can sometimes be difficult to decipher all the news that the medical community comes out with. A lot of it seems exciting, even though there are those who consider some the latest technology controversial, for moral and religious reasons. What stem cell research facilities do, and why it's so valuable, is easier to understand when it you break it down.

It begins with understanding what stem cells are. In the simplest language these cells are the roots that generate a tree full of cells that have special functions. In a laboratory it is possible to divide the root cells into offshoots called daughter cells. The daughter cells have the ability to create more cells just like them, or self-renew, or start brand new cells through differentiation, that have special functions. These might be brain cells, bone, blood, or heart muscle cells. Only the stems have the ability to generate new cell types naturally.

When researchers watch these cells grow, they start to learn the ways in which diseases develop. Regenerative medicine is the art of regenerating and replacing human cells to the place where normal function is restored. Stems have the ability to create special cells that regenerate or repair damaged or diseased tissue located anywhere in the human body.

There are a whole host of diseases, currently without a cure, that could potentially be eradicated. They include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, strokes, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, cancer, and type 1 diabetes just to name a few. Stems can potentially be grown into new tissue that can be used in transplants. Researchers are working on all kinds of new applications that could be used in regenerative and transplant medicine.

Researchers can test news drugs with the use of stems. Rather than experimenting on human beings, researchers study these cells in order to learn whether they are safe for use in humans and how well the drugs work. Cardiac toxicity is an area that is showing great promise.

Researchers are studying how stems can be effective, after they have been programmed to turn into tissue specific cells, when it comes to new drugs. To create the utmost accuracy, the researchers have to program the cells to mirror the sorts of cells a new drug is meant to target. Tests of specific cells, for instance, might show what effect, if any, a new drug has on these cells and whether the drug changes the cells in some way.

Researchers get the stems from several different sources, some of which are controversial. Embryonic cells are harvested from embryos that are less than a week old. These cells have the ability to divide into more stems or into any other type of cell found in the human body, making them versatile. These are the cells that have raised the ethical issues that bother so many people.

It is possible to mimic the properties that are found in embryonic cells. Scientists have also learned how to change genes in adult cells, using genetic reprogramming, so they mimic embryonic stems. Although is it still uncertain whether the new technology will negatively affect the human body, it may be effective in preventing the body's immune system from rejecting the new cells.




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