Stem cell research Pt 2 (Post 5)

Hello everyone, welcome back to part 2 of the stem cell research. I decided to put it into 2 parts as it is too long to be put into one post.

Now, I will be talking about adult stem cells. There is a rather simple diagram explaining stem cells below.



As you can see, it is, simply to put it, extracting stem cells from bone marrow and using the bone marrow to make into different cells and sometimes use it to treat leukemia.

In depth, most adult stem cells are lineage-restricted (multipotent) and are generally referred to by their tissue origin (mesenchymal stem cell, adipose-derived stem cell, endothelial stem cell, etc).

Adult stem cells are rather successful as they have been used to treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers through bone marrow transplants succesfully for many years. Adult stem cells are also used in veterinary medicine to treat tendon and ligament injuries in horses.

In conclusion, after posting this 2 blog posts and gaining more knowledge about stem cells, I have learnt that even though stem cells are very useful, there are ethical issues plauging it. For example, embryonic stem cells are derived from an early stage embryo, which wold mean a very very young baby. Many people don't see the point of saving a live but sacrificing another.

So, I hope that there would be a more ethical way of obtaining stem cells, like through adult stem cells, in the future. :)