By: Reba Hamlin

 Stem cells are very small cells that are not visible to the naked eye  In order to be seen under a microscope they must be stained with a fluorescent or glowing dye and magnified from twenty to forty times in order to be visible

 Stem cells can become bone, muscle, cartilage and other specialized types of cells, they have the potential to treat many diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and a lot more.  Eventually, they may also be used to regenerate organs, reducing the need for organ transplants and related surgeries.

 Stem cells are believed to be able to treat any disease, treat all cancers, and replace any cell in the human body.  Scientist believe that they can treat baldness, missing teeth, blindness, hearing impaired, and even reversing the affects of aging (making us look and feel younger) therefore helping extend life.

 The main con or disadvantage of stem cell research it that in order to use embryonic stem cell a fetus must be destroyed, in other words, killing of a human being.  This issue is what caused the main controversy of this topic.  But according to new research a fetus doesn’t not have to be destroyed because of other methods of obtaining stem cells.

 Skin cells  Fat Cells  Adult Cells  Cord Cells

 There are two types: mature and early.  Mature stem cells are found in specific mature body tissues as well as the umbilical cord and placenta after birth.  Early stem cells, often called embryonic stem cells, are found in the inner cell mass of a blastocyst after approximately five days of development.

 Only embryos up to 14 days old can be used for research  Research can only take place on embryos created in the laboratory, that is, embryos that have developed from eggs fertilized outside the body

 Bone marrow transplants and skin grafting are examples of stem cell replacement therapies.  For example, during a bone marrow transplant stem cells are removed from the bone marrow of a donor and transplanted into the patient to generate new blood cells.

 Stem cell transplants could offer potential therapies for degenerative diseases.  Stem cells could also be used as a source of healthy human cells for testing the effects and side-effects of potential new drugs, providing an alternative to some animal testing.

 Stem cell replacements face the problem of being rejected by the patient’s immune system.

 Researchers at UCLA are working on ways to arm blood stem cells in the bone marrow against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.  It is not a cure, but it may be more effective than current anti-viral treatments and may have the potential to immunize people against the virus.

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