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RELEVANT LEARNING OUTCOME:
(b) Explain the normal functions of stem cells in a living organism, including embryonic stem cells and blood stem cells.
🕐Estimated Time: 30 mins
❗The blind sees again!
❗The blind sees again!
Before we dive into the functions of stem cells, watch the video to see how stem cells were used to restore vision in a blind man, and some considerations behind the treatment.
As you watch the video, can you think of any challenges regarding such treatment?
Depending on the type of treatment, stem cells therapy may require the donation of stem cells, which can come from left over embryo from IVF treatments, this can bring about bioethical concerns, which we will briefly highlight below.
Another possible challenge is to be able to successfully induce the stem cell to differentiate to the specific cell type required (e.g., cone cells for colour detection), if the stem cell becomes other cell types, then the treatment would result in more harm than good.
💡Normal functions of stem cells
💡Normal functions of stem cells
The normal functions of stem cells have been covered from the three examples previously (zygotic, embyronic and adult stem cell). To recap, there are two main functions to stem cells:
Growth and development of the organism
This is a function of all stem cells (remember that zygotic forms embryonic, which forms adult stem cells, which then eventually differentiates to the specialised cell type)
Replace damaged or worn-out cells
this is mainly carried out by the adult stem cells found in the different organs and tissues.
Watch the video to get a recap on the two main functions of stem cells. (click to open on YouTube) As you watch, can you think of any medical applications that stem cells can be used for?
Given that stem cells are capabable of forming new cells, which can then form tissues and organs. They hold a large potential in the medical field, as they can be used to replace damaged cells in patients. This will be the applications of stem cells, covered next.
💡Applications of stem cells
💡Applications of stem cells
Given the potential of stem cells, there are many medical and scientific applications for it.
Watch the video which highlights two key applications:
Medical - Regenerative Medicine, which includes
replacing damaged tissues
tissue engineering for transplant
Scientific - Studying how stem cells work, which sheds light on human development
As you watch the video, think of the following:
Given that embryonic stem cell has the potential to become any cell in the body, what are some possible ethical implications in using embryonic stem cells?
Recall that embryonic stem cells are obtained from inner cell mass of blastocysts. When they are extracted, the blastocysts would no longer be able to develop into an embryo. This can be viewed as killing a potential life. In bioethics, this violates the principle of 'non-maleficence'.
Note that the video mentioned 'induced pluripotent stem cells'. This is a Nobel Prize winning research that is able to overcome this ethical concern, by converting specialised cells into pluripotent cells. If you are interested, you can learn more about it here. (not in syllabus)
🖊️Check Your Understanding
🖊️Check Your Understanding
Attempt qns 26-27 of the stem cells learning goals in this SLS lesson.
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