Stem Cells Research

Stem cell research has gained a lot of momentum in the past few years-due to the potential and controversies surrounding it! A lot of scientists and researchers claim that stem cells can help in curing grave diseases like type 1 diabetes, Alzheimer?s disease, multiple sclerosis, as well as spinal cord injuries where as other argue about the ethics of producing them. The debate is still continues but we have to reach a standpoint somewhere, and look at the positive side than harp about the negatives!

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the undifferentiated cells present in an organism which have the potential to develop into specialized organs or tissues. The stem cells divide through mitotic division and after division, they can either remain as a stem cell or grow into another type of cell, having specialized functions such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Stem Cells are of two types- embryonic stem cells or adult stem cells. The embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos or the inner mass of the blastocyst and are pluripotent- meaning that they are able to divide into any type of specialized cell whereas the adult stem cells are found among the differentiated tissues or organs and have the potential to yield the same type of cells of a specialized tissue or organ. They also have the capacity to renew or repair any damage to the tissue or organ.

There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the stem cells. The stem cells have the ability to grow into specialized types of organs- which means that they can be used for organ transplants because they can be grown to yield specific types of organs. Moreover it has been found out that stem cells can be used for curing diseases like cancer, Alzheimer?s disease, Parkinson?s disease, multiple sclerosis, and so on. So, one can see the tremendous potential which these cells have!

However, the advocators of human life despise or do not support this research because the extraction of embryonic stem cell requires the destruction of embryos- which means the end of a human life! Hence, the opposers of stem cell research do not regard it as ethical. President Bush has also strongly rejected the research on embryonic stem cells because he feels that this research in fact, destroys a human embryo! Funds devoted to stem cell research are being taken away due to strong oppositions by various ethical communities.

Even though stem cell research holds a lot of potential, yet it is being criticized on moral and ethical grounds. In the mean while we can just sit back and hope that people realize the immense value of this research and start advocating it!

An adult stem cell is an undifferentiated cell found among the differentiated cells in a tissue or organ can renew itself and can differentiate to yield the major specialized cell types of the tissue or organ. The primary roles of the adult stem cell in a living cell are to maintain and repair the tissues and organs in which they are found. There are now some scientists who spell the adult stem cells as the somatic stem cells. Unlike the embryonic stem cells the adult stem cells are a bit different. The embryonic stem cells are known by the organs in which it is found such as the inner cell mass and the blastocysts. The origin of the adult stem cell in the tissue is still unknown.

Research on the stem cell has really led to some of the very exciting results. The scientists have found many adult stem cells in many different tissues in which they have never thought of that it would be present. All this findings related to the adult stem cells have really prompted the scientists to think that they can be used for the transplant or not. In fact the adult blood forming stem cells from bone marrow have been used in transplant for more than 30 years.

Certain kinds of adult stem cells seem to have the ability to differentiate into a number of different cell types, given the right conditions. If this differentiation of adult stem cells can be controlled in the laboratory, these cells may become the basis of therapies for many serious common diseases.

The history of the research on the adult stem cell began about 40 years ago. In 1960, the scientists discovered that the bone marrow contain about two types of stem cells. One population which was called the hematopoietic stem cells and this formed the all types of the blood cells found in the body.

The second one which was called the bone marrow stromal cells was also discovered few years after. The stromal cells are the fixed cell populations that generate bones, cartilage, fats and fibrous connective tissues.

Where are they found?
The adult stem cells are found in almost all the tissues and organs. You must know one point and that is the stem cells are found in almost all the tissues and organs. Yes, you can say that they might be one or two but they are present in almost all the tissue and organs.

Scientists in many laboratories are trying to find the way to grow the adult stem cells in cell culture and manipulate them to generate specific cell type in order to cure various injuries and the diseases. We can thus hope only for the best.