Terminally differentiated cells have processes in the body
that are set in stone and cannot change. Other cells are useful for their
ability to replenish themselves, or rebuild cells for a different purpose.
Known as “stem” cells, these cells represent a huge opportunity for medical
scientists seeking to cure diseases that were previously incurable.
Biological
Manipulation
Scientists have discovered that the inclusion of RNA can
actually affect how a cell grows. This achievement is hoped to influence drug
making by effectively targeting certain cells. One of the drawbacks to current
pharmacology is the shotgun approach to treating disease, evidenced by the many
side effects a medication can carry. Through specific cell targeting, it’s
hoped that doctors can do more damage to the disease with less harmful effects
for the patient.
Extracting Cells
Embryonic stem cells are the most controversial, and they
typically come from early stage embryos. These cells can take the form of
anything a growing embryo may need, which makes them valuable to researchers
who hope to regenerate organs or cure cancer. How we harvest these cells has
changed, as we discover methods for growing embryonic cells in a petri-dish.
Stem Cell Therapy
The ideal future of medicine will use stem cells to rebuild
damaged tissues. Scientists hope that we will be able to take skin cells and
re-engineer them to fit with other parts of the body, effectively using the
same regenerative properties that heal us after a cut.
Conclusions
The world of stem cell research is growing, and we are
beginning to find less invasive methods for harvesting these important cells.
Future research will try more of these procedures with humans, but for now
testing is quite promising in the field of stem cell research.
Author Bio: This guest post was brought to you by Sasha Bakhru, a leading bio-medical researcher and
co-founder of Perosphere. Sasha Bakhru is also
an adjunct assistant professor at Brown University in Rhode Island.
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