Researchers
from the Brigham Research Center in Boston have found out that stem cells can
regenerate lung tissue. Never before had an isolated stem cell turned into lung
tissue. This discovery can be very beneficial for patients suffering from chronic
lung problems that didn't have treatments before. Although these forms of
treatment are still being studied, it is likely that stem cell treatment for
lung diseases will be available soon.
Also in the
month of May, doctors have successfully done surgery on a 45 year old policeman
who had become paraplegic after falling off a roof in 2006. In this never
before used technique, stem cells from the hip. These mesenchyme cells are then
injected in the area where the bone marrow has been fractured. In previous
tests using animals, they have all regained part of their movements back, but
the technique still isn't 100% efficient.
Even though
none of these treatments are completely efficient and will cure the patient
entirely, it gives them the first option of treatment, which is better than
nothing.
Pros:
Stem cell research might find a variety of treatments for different diseases in the future
- Scientists might learn about growth and cell development by further studying stem cells
- Recently, iPS cells, or induced pluripotent cells have been generated by scientists. They have the similar qualities of a pluripotent cell and lose their tissue specific qualities. Therefore, these types of cells can also be used rather than embryonic stem cells, taking the whole controversy off of the issue.
- Uniparental stem cells can also be used, but they are shorter lived compared to embryonic cells 
- Some argue that the billions of dollars invested in this research should be spent on other areas where it is more urgent, such as healthcare and education.
- Peripheral Blood Stem Cells have a disadvantage compared to other types of stem cells because their collection takes more time and therefore treatment can only be started later.
- Some argue that embryonic stem cell research is murder because it requires the destruction of the embryo so that the stem cells can be extracted.
- In many of the experiments with embryonic stem cells, animals have died of brain tumors and liver damages
Where the controversy is nowadays: 
Because of the claims that a human life is being destroyed by embryo stem cell research, scientists can only use pre-existing embryos for research that have been previously rejected by couples. Because of the controversy surrounding these types of cells, mainly due to protests of Catholics other alternative stem cells are being researched and significant advances are being made in both areas, especially in European countries, where the controversy has not lead to jurisdictions impairing research. Furthermore, iPSC's have been developed, which are animal cells that have been developed to an embryo-like state
My personal Oppinion on the controversial issue: It is very hard to define when something can be considered a human life and when not. Some claim it is a human life is generated as soon as the sperm fertilizes the egg, others say it is only after a certain amount of months of pregnancy. I personally only would consider it a murder if the baby would actually feel something. Maybe this criterion is wrong, but I just can't think of a bunch of stem cells as being a new life. Therefore, I believe Stem Cell Research on Embryonic Stem Cells should be allowed and strongly encouraged, because as I don't view it as a complete human life, there is no problem for me with running experiments with it.
Although bone marrow transplantation was tried by Georges Mathé in 1969, the first successful bone marrow transplant was done by E. Donnal Thomas in the from 1950-1970 in the Fred Huchingson Cancer Research Center. The first bone marrow transplant for a disease other then cancer was done in 1968 by Robert A. Good in the University of Minnesota. The three methods described below are commonly used in clinics in order to treat types of diseases of the blood. Most commonly, they are used in cancer cases after severe medication, because this medication attacks the growing cells to prevent the cancer from developing. Unfortunately, the cytotoxic agents present in these meds cannot distinguish between the cancer and other healthy growing cells and attacks them all. Therefore, the methods below aim at renewing these cells.
Bone Marrow Transplantation: Bone marrow is a soft, sponge-like material found inside bones. It contains hematopoietic blood cells, which divide and become blood-forming cells, which later become three types of blood cells. White blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are formed by these cells when they are injected intravenously just like any other blood transplant. Once they are in the body, the bone marrow cells travel to the bone marrow and go through a process called engrafment, where different types of blood cells are produced. Depending on the disease of the patient, bone marrow transplantation might effectively lead to renewal of blood cells in 3 weeks to 1 year.
Matching a donor and a receptor for bone marrow transplantation depends on how well the HLA of the receptor match that of the donor. HLA are human leukocyte associated antigens, which are on the surface of the bone marrow stem cell. These proteins can be identified by a specific blood test. If the donor and the receptor are closely related, there is a higher probability for matching HLA's. Being from the same racial background also helps in terms of compatibility. Obtaining bone marrow for transplantation is a fairly simple process. It involves taking the bone marrow under a general anesthesia. Harvesting (the process of collecting the bone-marrow) takes about one hour and is generally done through the pelvic bone.
Since Peripheral Blood Cells also contain stem cells, they can be transplanted by a process called Peripheral Blood Cell Transplantation or PBCT.In this process, blood is collected from the donor, filtered, the stem cells removed and then transfused back into the body. This process takes about 6 hours and the donor will probably be given some medication 4 days before the process to increase the number of stem cells in the blood.
The last process that uses stem cells as a form of treatment is the Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Collection. In this process, blood is collected from the placenta and the umbilical cord of the baby when it is born. Then, this blood is collected and stored. Since this method of collection only provides little stem cells, it is usually used only for babies or small children in cases as the ones described above.
Apart from these methods, many others are currently being tested. Stem cells are being tested to cure other types of cancer, mainly brain cancer, but this research has not shown many promising results because brain cancer spreads too fast. Brain damage also can be treated by stem cells, which can regenerate dead brain matter, but the lack of robustness of the cells doesn’t generate recovery.
One of the most promising researches is of the use of stem cells for heart disease cures. After suffering infarcts, these stem cells can regenerate heart muscle tissue and blood vessels. Since 2003, corneal stem cell transplants have been successful. Since the cornea doesn't have blood vessels, it is much easier to transplant compared to other organs.
Stem cells are also used for treating missing teeth, baldness, spinal cord injury, diabetes and infertility.
This post will further explain stem cells and what different types of stem cells there are. Enjoy:
Embrionic Stem Cells: They are undifferentiated stem cells in the early stages of the embryo (when the abay is still a bunch of cells) and appear to have the ability to evolve to any type of cell in the body. Also, once they are evolving to become a certain body cell, they can still be relocated and change into another cell. When the zygote is 7 days old, it forms a structure called blastocyst, which is a mass of cells that will later become the fetus and the trophoblastic tissue , which will later become the placenta. If cells are taken from that structure, they can be pluripotent, meaning that they can become many different cell types in the human body. While the fact that embryonic cells can become every cell in the body might seem promising for therapeutically purposes, these types of stem cells are not used in any type of treatment because they might become cancerous tissue, by evolving to a different type of tissue as needed. It might happen, for example, that bone tissue would grow on a muscle, which would cause cancer. Therefore, in order to be therapeutically effective, these stem cells would have to be at a more advanced stage of development.. 
Fetal Stem Cells: After the 8th- 10th week of development, the stem cells are still pluripotent. Most of the cells of the fetus at this point are destined to make it grow fast and start developing towards a specific type of cell.
Umbilical Chord Stem Cells: The stem cells present in the umbilical cord blood are genetically identical to the newborn and are able to differentiate into certain types of cells, but not all. Mostly, they are able to differentiate into blood cells and are therefore kept in case the newborn needs them to replace blood cells after a cancer, for example. These cells are tissue specific, meaning they are found in a tissue of the body (the umbilical cord) and develop the mature cell within that tissue or organ.
Adult Stem Cells: The adult stem cell is located in every one of us in the bone marrow and produces tissue-specific stem cells for intestine, muscles and skin. They are, therefore, referred to as multipotent cells. Alongside with the Umbilical Cord Stem Cell, this type of cell can be used for medical treatment. Adult Stem Cells from the bone marrow, for example, can produce blood cells and cure cancers, just like the Umbilical Cord Stem Cell. It was believed until recently that these types of Stem Cells only repair the tissue they originally came from and that, for example, a bone marrow stem cell could only turn into a blood cell. However, this was contradicted by recent findings, where a mouse with liver problems experienced better results after receiving bone marrow transplant, suggesting that even bone marrow stem cells can evolve to another type of cell, suggesting that they might also be pluripotent cells. Another type of adult stem cell is the mesenchymal stem cells, which are able to produce cartilage and bone marrow. The study of these stem cells could be beneficial to people suffering from arthritis for example. iPS Cells: cells which were usually tissue-specific (mostly skin cells) and have been manipulated to adopt the same characteristics as embryonic stem cells. In this very complicated process, the use of lent virus was originally required, which could have lead to complications with the DNA. Now, with a recent discovery, reagents bring epigenetic changes to the cell and reprogram it to pluripotency.
( A stem cell)
( A stem cell)
Most cells in our body are specific types of cells. This means that they are liver cells, muscle cells, bone cells or many other possibilities. But before these cells become what they become, they are a type of rudimentary cell that is not yet defined as a specific cell in our body. This type of cell is the stem cell, which is a undifferentiated cell, meaning that it has not yet gone through the process of differentiation. Differentiation is the process of turning that undefined and undifferentiated stem cell into a defined, differentiated cell in our body.
Stem cells can be found in the gastrointestinal tract or in the bone marrow, from which they mutate to specific body cells and repair or renew our body tissues. Because of their capacity to mutate into every type of body tissue, they have high medical value, because they can renew damaged tissue in a patient's body. Bone marrow, for example, has been transplanted for years to help patients with leukemia (blood cancer). Although stem cells in our body can transform into blood cells and save a patient from leukemia, it is yet unclear if and how a stem cell could mutate into every type of cell when in another person's body.
(A Zygote)The only type of stem cell that can do that is the stem cell that composes the zygote. The zygote is the result of the fertilization of an egg by a sperm. From that stage on, they zygote keeps dividing its cells until it forms all the tissues that form the human body. Therefore, scientists have tried to use the zygote in experiments to see how they can make it mutate into the specific cell they want. This process is called stem cell research, and will be explained in detail further on.Check out this video on stem cells:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcE1Y_bOQE&feature=player_embedded
