Wednesday, February 4, 2009
-cn't'd- stem cells @ 11:16 PM
This post will be for the English Ace Assesment.I realised that I did not touch on the meaning of Stem Cells on my previous post about stem cells and decided to talk about it for this post.
What is a stem cell?
A cell is a very basic structural and functional unit of life. While bacteria are unicellular because they consist of only one cell, humans are considered multicellular in that they have literally trillions of cells. Your cells are responsible for everything that you do, whether that is taking in nutrients, providing energy for you to go about your day, or reproducing. Cells in your body have many different functions and they 'stem' from simpler cells that are not yet specialised. These simpler cells are known as stem cells. What this means is that a stem cell is basically a cell that does not yet have a specific job in the body. The word 'simple' is even a bit deceiving because it implies that these cells are not important, which is far from the case.
What makes stem cell special?
Stem cells have key features that separate them from other types of cells. They are:
* Unspecialised and renew themselves by dividing
* Able, under specific conditions, to become cells with specialised jobs (e.g. the nerve cell)
When a stem cell divides, the new cell can become a different cell with a more specific function, such as a heart cell, or it can remain a stem cell. Stem cells are vital to humans for numerous reasons. In the primary stages of embryo development, a tiny cluster of approximately thirty cells eventually leads to hundreds of extremely specialised cells that are necessary for adult life. As the foetus develops, stem cells become the many specialised cells that constitute tissues such as heart and skin. In fact, groups of stem cells in some adult tissues also give rise to replacement cells that are destroyed through injury, disease or age.
Why should we learn more about stem cells?
Stem cells have an enormous potential to benefit different areas of disease research and management. By learning more about stem cells, scientists and the public can understand how these multi-purpose cells can develop into the specific and specialised cells that make humans what they are today. By studying stem cells, we can learn about the actual process that occurs from a single stem cell to a huge array of specialised cells that let us live and function each day.Stem cells also have therapeutic potential for creating tissues. The waiting lists for organ donation are overwhelming and many people die whilst waiting for an organ transplant. Certain types of stem cells may also provide a source of cells to treat a broad range of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, burns, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Thus,in conculsion,stem cells are clearly an intriguing and promising area of science but like many fields of interest, they use prompts, questions and controversy. Stem cells are already being used today to treat medical conditions that you or a loved one may suffer from and with continued research; we can all learn more details about what stem cells are and how they can improve our lives.