Stem Cell Research Is a Term Paper

To this end, scientists are studying the fundamental properties of stem cells, including:

determining precisely how stem cells remain unspecialized and self renewing for many years; and identifying the signals that cause stem cells to become specialized cells ("Stem Cell Basics").

This research will allow them to help the multitude of people afflicted with a variety of diseases.

Stem Cell Application:

This is perhaps the most important potential application for human stem cells - the generation of cells and tissues that can be used for cell-based therapies. Approximately 25.6 million Americans currently have diagnosed heart disease ("Heart Disease"). Stem cells may be utilized to generate healthy heart muscle cells, for patients with chronic heart disease. "Preliminary research in mice and other animals indicates that bone marrow stem cells, transplanted into a damaged heart, can generate heart muscle cells and successfully repopulate the heart tissue ("What are the Potential Uses").Those with diabetes can be helped with stem cell therapy, potentially, as well. 10% of the adult American population (20 years of age and older) has diabetes - both diagnosed and undiagnosed ("Diabetes").

For patients suffering from type I diabetes, the pancreatic cells that normally produce insulin for the body, are destroyed by the person's own immune system. "New studies indicate that it may be possible to direct the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells in cell culture to form insulin-producing cells that eventually could be used in transplantation therapy for diabetics" ("What are the Potential Uses").

Although scientists have only been able to experiment with human embryonic stem cells since 1998, with.....