Stem cell research is a relatively new phenomenon but it is a phenomenon nonetheless that is making a significant impact on the world of medical science, as has gene therapy. The discovery of the fact that stem cells have the capability to develop into any one of the hundreds of cell types that make up the human body gave way for the rise of a whole new era in medical science.
This information and the research already carried out means that today we can cure such diseases as Leukaemia and furthermore we can have faith in the belief that many other truly horrendous diseases, disorders and injuries will be curable by stem cell therapy.
As with many new medical practices there is scepticism surrounding the idea of stem cell research; there are ethical debates and the practice of stem cell research is legalised to varying degrees around the world. The two major ethical dilemmas are: the fact that stem cell therapy makes human cloning a real possibility; and the fact that, in the case of embryonic stem cell research, fertilised human embryos are destroyed for research purposes and many believe we simply do not have the right to do this.
It is undeniable that there is something incredibly uncomfortable about the idea of human cloning and likewise with the idea of destroying human lives for research purposes. However, the fact that this research has the potential to help the lives of so many people suffering with various illnesses provides a powerful justification to those that oppose the practice.
Here is a timeline showing important dates in history for stem cell research and its progress:
1908 – Russian Alexander Maksimov invents the term “stem cell”, defining the existence of these cells
1963 – The existence of self-renewing cells are discovered in the bone marrow of mice by McCulloch and Till
1968 – The first successful bone marrow transplant is carried out on 2 siblings to treat Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
1981 – Embryonic stem cells are obtained from mice by scientists Gail R. Martin, Martin Evans and Matthew Kaufman
2001 – Scientists clone the first early human embryos for the function of producing embryonic stem cells
2003 – A new resource of adult stem cells is discovered by Dr. Songtao Shi in the unlikely location of children’s milk teeth
2005 – A clinical trial is carried out on mice with paralysed spines showing that the injection of human neural stem cells partially restores the walking ability of these mice
2006 – The primary synthetic liver cells are created at Newcastle University using umbilical cord blood stem cells
January 2007 – A new kind of stem cell is reportedly found in amniotic fluid; potentially providing a substitute to the highly debated use of embryonic stem cells
October 2007 – Martin Evans, Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies win the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their work on embryonic stem cells
2008 – Within a single human hair, embryonic-like stem cells are discovered; providing another potential alternative to embryonic stem cell research
2009 – A revolutionary way of producing embryonic-like stem cells from normal adult stem cells is discovered by Andras Nagy, Keisuke Kaji, et al. A specialised technique enables the scientists to reprogram the adult cells without using a virus to make the change
October 2010 – The first trial using human embryonic stem cells is carried out
Stem cell research has had various successes and equally various failures over a number of years but the progress in all areas of stem cell research is likely to continue as technology advances and as we learn more and more about the many possibilities we have at our fingertips through the use of stem cell therapy.
There are undoubtedly going to be hurdles along the way but progress no matter how great or small is music to the ears of the many thousands of people the world over suffering from currently incurable diseases.
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