stem cells in medicine

• steps of a treatment using stem cells

  1. extract embryo stem cells from early embryos
  2. grow the embryonic stems cells in laboratory
  3. stimulate them to differentiate into whichever type of specialised cell is required
  4. give them to the patient, to replace their faulty cells
• 3 diseases that could be treated with stem cells

  • sickle cell anaemia - replace the faulty red blood cells
  • paralysis - replace the faulty nerve cells
  • type 1 diabetes - replace the faulty pancreatic cells
• drawbacks of using embryonic stem cells in stem cell therapy

  • there is a limited supply of embryonic stem cells
  • there is a risk of rejection
  • some people object to the use of stem cells for ethical reasons
• 2 risks of using stem cells in medicine

  • the stem cell could be infected with a virus whilst in the laboratory, which could then infect the patient
  • as stem cells divide quickly, there is a chance they could divide uncontrollable once they've been transplanted, and then develop into a tumor
• ethical objection that some people have towards the use of stem cells in medicine

  some people argue that human embryos shouldn't be used for experiments since each one is a potential human life
• 3 uses of plant stem cells

  • they can be used to produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply (rather then growing them from seeds)
  • they can be used to grow more plants of rare species (to prevent them from going extinct)
  • they can be used to produce clones that have desired features for agriculture (for example, fast growth or disease resistance)