Stem cells

TOK questions Stem Cells (1-8)

1. What are the stem cells?

The stem cells have the capacity to transform themselves into various cell types in the body. These cells also serve as internal repair of the body, which divide to replenish other cells. When a mother cell divides, each one can be transformed to another type of cell to another function or stay like it was.

2.What are the most important characteristics of stem cells?

The stem cells renew themselves for long periods of cell division. In a situation of experiment, the stem cells can become only to special functions.

Scientists usually work with stem cells of animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.The stem cells are all the development for any type of tissue within and outside the body as the heart, lungs, skin, among others. Stem cells generate replacements for cells lost through normal conditions, injury or diseases, especially in adult tissues.

New treatments are associated with stem cells to treat serious diseases such as heart, Parkinson, among others, to replace and repair cells.

Stem cell transplant also help your body make red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets,  reduce also the risk of life-threatening bleeding, infections and anemia.

3.What are the therapeutic uses of stem cells?

Stem cell therapies are based on the combination of the first cell population and the environment in which they are is correct. With this combination is an effective stem cell therapy.

There are therapeutic uses, the stem cell transplant is the infusion of stem cells within a body healing. An example could be the bone marrow at a time to stop working. A procedure is the implantation of stem cells to differentiate after transplantation, or the differentiation of stem cells before transplantation.

Therapeutic cloning of stem cells is another technique to repair and regenerate tissues and organs. Especially in the field of organ transplantation, where immune rejection is common, therapeutic cloning is often seen as a way of eliminating this problem of immune rejection.

4.What are the risks of stem cell therapies? 

One of the risks for the therapeutic cloning  is the "large offspring syndrome", in which the cloned embryo develops into an dangerously, and abonormally, large fetus by the time of birth. There are also risks of tumors in the trated person.

 5. What are the benefits of the stem cell therapies?

The stem cell therapies brought benefits both to the health of people and knowledge of modern medicine. Stem cells have many benefits for diseases of high power in the body. There are benefits and functions of stem cells that scientists haven't discovered and are they working harder to treat diseases that are actually affecting the people's life.

6. Whom will the technology help? Does it have the potential to hurt anyone? 

Over the years technology has been invented to meet the desires of others, to create a life more comfortable and easier, more accessible, also to solve the problems of society. Technology means global development.
Yes, it has the potential to hurt people. "Something good always come out of something bad." Perhaps technology is invading us even more.

7. What is your ethical position?

Our ethical stance is that if the technology was created, was to meet the human, which is mandatory and required to follow a technological world.
The technology also brings social problems, only a new conception of society based on humanistic principles, to support its development in a thorough education of its professionals, will bring a set of rules to follow, which could result in new codes of ethics.

8. How the scientific community conveys information about its work to the wider community in such a way that informed decisions about research can be made? 

The scientists conveys their information with others to let population know, as if something is published, it is for something, there is a interesting reason through to let the people know to be benefited. In the event of a failed experiment, scientists are not going to publish it because it has no reason whatsoever for people to be interested.

Bibliography:

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

http://ec.europa.eu/research/quality-of-life/stemcells/pro_sinden_en.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stem-cell-transplant/MY00089

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pa_acdlife_doc_20000824_cellule-staminali_en.html

http://www.cellmedicine.com/cloning.asp

http://www.monografias.com/trabajos14/ciencia-etica/ciencia-etica.shtml#co