FertilityGoldSpot's Navigation Links

[Coast to Coast Fertility Clinics & Specialists List] [Go to ExtendFertility GoldSpot] [No.1 List of Reproductive Specialists, coast2coast Treatment Clinics & Reproductive Centers] [Go to Coast to Coast Fertility Clinics and Centers] [Medical Tourists from the USA, Europe & Africa in India]

Stem Cell Research Data Systems

What are Stem Cells?

There have been a lot of talks about stem cells lately. What are they? They are master cells that grow into any type of bodily tissue. Industry analysts say that cells taken from human embryos are uniquely versatile. They could lead to new treatments of Alzheimer’s, type 1 diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other diseases. So a lot of scientists have been trying to showcase the benefits and treatments that could derive from stem cells. Through therapeutic cloning, stem cells could be manipulated to form different types of tissues. They could be transplanted into suffering patients whose immune system will not reject them.

Now stem cells can also be extracted from uncloned human embryos. They are mostly the results or by-products of fertility treatment. When an infertile woman undergoes various fertility procedures, sometimes, the reproductive specialists will try to collect various eggs from the woman. The idea is to try to have more fertilization. No wonder that dealing with human embryos leads to the rise of opponents and advocates of the practice. Advocates say that stem cells could lead to disease treatments. Opponents do not buy this view. They state that human embryos are destroyed. What many researchers and TV programs such as 60 Minutes have shown is that these embryos may end up being discarded as biohazards since there is no regulation to deal with them effectively. What is clear is that these scientists can not expect to receive funding from the federal government for research on stem cells developed after August 2001.

The whole community of stem cell research scientists suffered a major setback when it was discovered that Hwang Woosuk was faking data in his two papers published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005. It is like scientists have to go back to the drawing board. Dr. Erin Lavik, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Yale University, has been conducting research in the field. She states that “The only cells that have been shown to be stem cells in a truly rigorous manner are hematopoetic stem cells. These cells are extracted from bone marrow, capable of being expanded indefinitely, and capable of replacing all of the cells of the blood which one cannot do with other kinds of stem cells because one cannot eliminate the nervous system or other tissues and survive long enough to replace them.” Dr. Lavik also writes about other types of stem cells. She writes about neural stem cells and glial cells. The latter can multiply. So she thought that they “might be able to be harvested, expanded, and reintroduced to assist in repairing the tissue.” Despite her expertise, she recognizes the pitfalls of stem cells. “Survival of transplanted cells of any type is a real challenge in the field. Getting surviving cells to function properly is a second challenge,” she wrote in a column published by MIT. She recognizes that the human race is trying as best as it can to find a cure to injuries and diseases. In the case of spinal cord injury, she has her reservations too. “Neither adult nor embryonic human stem cells have helped people with severe spinal cord injuries to walk again. In fact, neither cells have had any statistically significant, documented impact at this point on spinal cord injury in humans.”

No matter what, the race is on. Whether funding is provided or not, scientists from other countries are taking the challenge. It is a race to the finish. In the meantime, how many embryonic stem cells will be destroyed? Questions will abound. New regulations will be enacted to deal with the supply

Read more articles at http://shopnowshop.tripod.com/wordpress

Your Ad Here