Where is stem cells used

On this page Basics Summary Start Here. Learn More Related Issues Specifics. See, Play and Learn Videos and Tutorials. Resources Find an Expert. Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways: They can divide and renew themselves over a long time They are unspecialized, so they cannot do specific functions in the body They have the potential to become specialized cells, such as muscle cells, blood cells, and brain cells Doctors and scientists are excited about stem cells because they could help in many different areas of health and medical research.

Start Here. However, more research is needed to help understand the potential uses of amniotic fluid stem cells. However, in recent years, there has been controversy surrounding the way human embryonic stem cells are obtained. During the process of harvesting embryotic stem cells, the embryo is destroyed. This raises ethical concerns for people who believe that the destruction of a fertilized embryo is morally wrong. Opponents believe that an embryo is a living human being.

They argue that the embryo should have the same rights as every other human and that these rights should be protected. Supporters of stem cell research, on the other hand, believe that the embryos are not yet humans. They note that researchers receive consent from the donor couple whose eggs and sperm were used to create the embryo.

Supporters also argue that the fertilized eggs created during in-vitro fertilization would be discarded anyway, so they might be put to better use for scientific research. With the breakthrough discovery of iPSCs, there may be less of a need for human embryos in research. This may help ease the concerns of those who are against using embryos for medical research.

However, if iPSCs have the potential to develop into a human embryo, researchers could theoretically create a clone of the donor. This presents another ethical issue to take into consideration.

Many countries already have legislation in place that effectively bans human cloning. In the United States, federal policy regarding stem cell research has evolved over time as different presidents have taken office. Rather, regulations have placed restrictions on public funding and use.

However, certain states have placed bans on the creation or destruction of human embryos for medical research. In August , former President George W.

Bush approved a law that would provide federal funding for limited research on embryonic stem cells. However, such research had to fit the following criteria:. The order removed the restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research. The NIH then published guidelines to establish the policy under which it would fund research.

When scientists take stem cells from embryos, these are usually extra embryos that result from in vitro fertilization IVF. In IVF clinics, the doctors fertilize several eggs in a test tube, to ensure that at least one survives. They will then implant a limited number of eggs to start a pregnancy. This single-celled zygote then starts to divide, forming 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, and so on.

Now it is an embryo. Soon, and before the embryo implants in the uterus, this mass of around — cells is the blastocyst. The blastocyst consists of two parts:. The inner cell mass is where embryonic stem cells are found. Scientists call these totipotent cells. The term totipotent refer to the fact that they have total potential to develop into any cell in the body. With the right stimulation, the cells can become blood cells, skin cells, and all the other cell types that a body needs.

In early pregnancy, the blastocyst stage continues for about 5 days before the embryo implants in the uterus, or womb. At this stage, stem cells begin to differentiate. Scientists have used MSCs to create new body tissues, such as bone, cartilage, and fat cells. They may one day play a role in solving a wide range of health problems.

Scientists create these in a lab, using skin cells and other tissue-specific cells. These cells behave in a similar way to embryonic stem cells, so they could be useful for developing a range of therapies.

To grow stem cells, scientists first extract samples from adult tissue or an embryo. They then place these cells in a controlled culture where they will divide and reproduce but not specialize further. Stem cells that are dividing and reproducing in a controlled culture are called a stem-cell line. Researchers manage and share stem-cell lines for different purposes.

They can stimulate the stem cells to specialize in a particular way. This process is known as directed differentiation. Until now, it has been easier to grow large numbers of embryonic stem cells than adult stem cells.

However, scientists are making progress with both cell types. Researchers categorize stem cells, according to their potential to differentiate into other types of cells. Embryonic stem cells are the most potent, as their job is to become every type of cell in the body. Totipotent : These stem cells can differentiate into all possible cell types. The first few cells that appear as the zygote starts to divide are totipotent.

Pluripotent : These cells can turn into almost any cell. Cells from the early embryo are pluripotent. Multipotent : These cells can differentiate into a closely related family of cells. Adult hematopoietic stem cells, for example, can become red and white blood cells or platelets.

Oligopotent : These can differentiate into a few different cell types. Adult lymphoid or myeloid stem cells can do this. Stem cell research holds tremendous promise for medical treatments, but scientists still have much to learn about how stem cells, and the specialized cells they generate, work in the body and their capacity for healing.

Learn more about clinical translation, the process through which science becomes medicine, here. The value of stem cells Each and every day, scientists across the world conduct stem cell research that informs our understanding of the human body and how we approach medicine. These are just a few of the ways stem cells are being used: To study normal human development.