Once you are done reading the following article pertaining to one person’s
perspective on the future evolved with stem cell research. Please share your
thoughts as comments are appreciated.
Stem Cells: The Future Of Medicine
One day in the not too distant future, modern medicine will change
completely, and stem cells will be used to treat and cure serious conditions
that as of right now are still considered untreatable and irreversible. We will
not even need doctors anymore. Every time something goes wrong, you will just
pop offer to your local gene therapy clinic to get a tune-up with some freshly
grown injectable stem cells engineered to cure your latest malady.
Stem cells
are undifferentiated, non-specific human cells with a full complement of DNA
that have not yet transformed into anything specific, such as the cells in your
hand, or the cells in your hair follicles. These cells are capable of being a
mechanic for your body; they can repair you by undergoing cell division to
manufacture whatever cells are needed in order to replace old, damaged, or
diseased cells that are no longer viable and need to be replenished.
Stem
cell lines, once isolated, are very easy for scientists to work with because
they can continue to make these cells for testing from the original line, due to
the fact that those original lines are basically immortal, providing scientists
with an unlimited supply that they can use for experimentation.
Currently,
stem cell treatments are not available for most conditions and are usually only
utilized in bone marrow transplants and not much else. The primary challenge
that researchers face, as they attempt to perfect the usage of these treatments,
is to prevent the immune system of the patient from rejecting the injected
cells. A similar dilemma occurs with organ transplants, as the immune system of
the recipient can reject the donation.
There have been a few successful, high
risk experiments that utilized stem cells to reverse a debilitating condition.
One of the most noteworthy examples occurred within the past 2 years, as
scientists injected cells into the area where a test patient had been suffering
from acute arthritis, and the results were astonishing. The cells divided into
healthy joint cells that integrated themselves into the inflamed area and
reversed the arthritic condition.
Stem cells will ultimately be the final
frontier of medicine, providing cures for diseases that scientists have
struggled with for years, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and organic brain
disease. However, there is much opposition to the research. Prominent religious
leaders and ideologues are opposed to the research.
The religious right feels
that creating an embryo to do research is tantamount to abortion. However, if
the research is to reach its full potential, the creation of further embryos
will be a necessity in order to support adequate research.
In the end,
science will likely win, as some states have already funded the research that
uses both existing cell lines and embryos. It may take some time, but the cures
that will result from the usage of these treatments are far too important too
dismiss simply because of religious beliefs.
Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps
programmers make an HTML form
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