Embryonic stem cells (or ES cells) are imperishable, undying. They are the undifferentiated cells which occur in the early embryo of placental mammals, and have the ability to mimic and eventually differentiate into any other cell in the mammalian anatomy. When the mouse ES cell was first identified in 1991, and its human counterpart was isolated seven years later, this immensely powerful cell became the object of many scientific discoveries, political issues, and ethical debates, topics which will be covered in the remainder of this report. ES cells are a critical new frontier in modern medicine, and the spark of its discovery gave rise to the next inferno in modern medicine, and the spark of its discovery gave rise to the next inferno in
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Although scientists have not been able to grow a “fully fledged” human brain from embryonic stem cells or repair defective sectors of the brain, they have recently succeeded in creating brain organoids, which are small groups of cells that mimic neurons from the cortex of the brain. This could lead to cures for neurological and nervous degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Also, transplantation of ES cells into a patient’s body is now a possible treatment option for patients with diseases which can obliterate bone marrow, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma. In addition, researchers have injected stem cells into the retinas of twelve patients who have a genetic condition which causes their retinal cells to die off in early childhood. These retinal cells are supposed to carry nutrients to the photoreceptor cells which capture light; if they are defective, the patient’s ability to see will gradually decrease. When two hundred thousand ES cells were injected into the patient’s retinas, the cells developed into whole, functioning retinal cells to replace the unhealthy ones. These examples are only the beginning of stem cell research, and the future of it holds a seemingly endless
Although scientists have not been able to grow a “fully fledged” human brain from embryonic stem cells or repair defective sectors of the brain, they have recently succeeded in creating brain organoids, which are small groups of cells that mimic neurons from the cortex of the brain. This could lead to cures for neurological and nervous degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Also, transplantation of ES cells into a patient’s body is now a possible treatment option for patients with diseases which can obliterate bone marrow, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma. In addition, researchers have injected stem cells into the retinas of twelve patients who have a genetic condition which causes their retinal cells to die off in early childhood. These retinal cells are supposed to carry nutrients to the photoreceptor cells which capture light; if they are defective, the patient’s ability to see will gradually decrease. When two hundred thousand ES cells were injected into the patient’s retinas, the cells developed into whole, functioning retinal cells to replace the unhealthy ones. These examples are only the beginning of stem cell research, and the future of it holds a seemingly endless