Technology Advancements and Stem Cells in Hemophilia Treatment - Research Paper Example

 The advancement science and technology has made is nothing short of incredible, there have been many advancements made in the field of stem cell research and the diseases which were incurable earlier have become curable only because of these advancements in the field of stem cell research. Stem cell research is particularly useful for patients suffering from hemophilia. Hemophilia is very complicated and stem cell research helps in curing it, there are other blood related diseases which can also be cured using stem cells this goes to show that we have made tremendous progress in the field of science and research. Science has technology has made significant progress in the last few years, what looked implausible a few years ago has become plausible today and what looks implausible today will become plausible tomorrow. Several major breakthroughs have been achieved in the last few years. Many new drugs have been invented to combat killer diseases and several lives have been saved because of these newly invented drugs. The invention of Stem cells has made life so much better. Significant progress in the field of stem cells was made by Dr. Ernest A. McCulloch and Dr. James E. They started working in unison in the 1960s and their research laid an ideal platform for the others to take it forward from there and that is exactly what the others did. Stem cells are really useful and they have saved several lives which would not have been plausible had stem cells not been invented. “Mouse embryonic stem cells treated in culture with a growth factor and then injected into the liver reverse a form of hemophilia in mice analogous to hemophilia B in humans, the new study shows.” (Stem Cells Treated with Growth Factor) Stem cells have several pros and this paper will extensively shed light upon the various uses of stem cells, stem cells have changed many a life. What changes has it brought will also be shed light upon in this paper. The versatility of the stem cells is arguably their biggest strongest point, stem cells can easily grow in certain bodies and they are more than capable of achieving specialized functions. In addition to this they can also renew themselves on their very own and this versatility makes them really useful. There are two types of stem cells namely, Embryonic stem cells and Adult stem cells. The two are really different from each other and understandably have different characteristics. They also differ in functions from one another. Cancer patients undergo chemo and radiation therapy, stem cells are used in this treatment and they have been pivotal in saving several lives. James Thomson and his pupils worked indefatigably hard in the Madison University, stem cell research has been put on the world map because of James Thomson and his pupils. Their research has been incredible and they have made significant progress in the field of stem cell research. “Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue. These stem cells have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver. They remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury.” (What are Stem Cells?) Stem cells can regenerate an entire organ and this is another exceptional quality of theirs. This quality has been very well exploited and the same will be done in the future also, this great quality is expected to save many more lives in the near future. Embryonic stem cells on the other hand are usually derived from a young embryo, a zygote is formed when the sperms of a male enter into an ovum of a woman and this is how the sexual reproduction begins. The cells also start multiplying, they gradually multiply into 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8 so on and so forth. “However, when extracting embryonic stem cells, the blastocyst stage signals when to isolate stem cells by placing the "inner cell mass" of the blastocyst into a culture dish containing a nutrient-rich broth. Lacking the necessary stimulation to differentiate, they begin to divide and replicate while maintaining their ability to become any cell type in the human body. Eventually, these undifferentiated cells can be stimulated to create specialized cells.” (What are Stem Cells?) Stem cells are more than capable of curing several serious brain diseases. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's can easily be cured by using stem cells. The damages cells in the brain are superseded with stem cells and this is how the patient is cured. Earlier there was no cure for these diseases but thanks to stem cells, these diseases have become perfectly curable now. Conclusion The research done on stem cells has been nothing short of incredible, these cells can cure several more diseases which no one even thought of, research is ongoing and many more breakthroughs are ought to be made in the future. “Healthy heart cells developed in a laboratory may one day be transplanted into patients with heart disease, repopulating the heart with healthy tissue. Similarly, people with type I diabetes may receive pancreatic cells to replace the insulin-producing cells that have been lost or destroyed by the patient's own immune system. The only current therapy is a pancreatic transplant, and it is unlikely to occur due to a small supply of pancreases available for transplant.” (What are Stem Cells?) There are several blood diseases that can easily be cured with the help of stem cells and this is again a big pro of stem cells. Human development is ongoing and stem cells also help a lot in understanding the development of human beings. Bone marrow transplantation is unthinkable without stem cells, it is also more than capable of curing baldness, blindness, diabetes and many more diseases but there is no official confirmation on this because the research is ongoing in these fields. To conclude it is very fair to say that stem cells have made life easier and its unique ability of curing different diseases makes it revolutionary. Works Cited Stem Cells Treated with Growth Factor (2013). Science Daily. Web. Retrieved from: What are Stem Cells? (2013). Adult Stem Cells. Web. Retrieved from: Read More