STEM CELLS

• stem cells: undifferentiated cells that can divide to produce more cells of the same type.
• stem cell are found in human embryos.
• stem cells have the potential to turn into any kind of cell at all.
• adults also have stem cells, but they are only found in certain places, like bone marrow.
• stem cells from embryos and bone marrow can be grown in a lab to produce clones and made to differentiate into specialised cells to use in medicine or research.
• stem cells may be able to cure many diseases.
• embryonic stem cells could be used to replace faulty cells in sick people.
• stem cells could be produced from embryos that have the same genetic information as the patient, this means that the stem cells produced from it wouldn't be rejected by the patients body.
• risks involving stem cells in medicine:

  • stem cells grown in the lab may become contaminated with a virus which could be passed on to the patient and make the sicker.
• some people are against stem cell research:

  • they feel that human embryos shouldn't be used for experiments since each one is a potential human life.
• some people are not against stem cell research:

  • they think that curing existing patients who are suffering is more important than the rights of embryos.
  • embryos used in research are usually unwanted ones from fertility clinic which, if they weren't used for research, would probably just be destroyed.
• stem cells can produce identical plants:

  • in plants, stem cells are found in the meristems.
  • throughout the plants life, cells in the meristem tissue can differentiate into any type of plant cell.
  • these stem cells can be used to produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply.
  • they can be used to grow more plants of rare species.