Advances Open New Frontiers In Medicine
As the public gains aw`reness of the benefits of stem cell research to extend and improve human life and combat diseases, more people are realizing that, rather than a technology to be feared, this research may offer solutions to our most pressing health problems. Heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, debilitating congenital diseases, and accident-cased spinal injuries are just a few of the many conditions that may be treated with stem cell technology in the future. Studies into the use of stem cells are ongoing and new discoveries are pushing the envelope of medicine's capacity to treat disease and improve human life.
Both types of stem cell research currently being pursued, adult and embryonic research, hold the potential to cure or improve severe diseases. Adult stem cell technology, in which the progenitor cells within an adult's body are reproduced and turned into needed cells of different types, is already being used clinically to help replace malfunctioning tissues and cells in patients. Embryonic stem cell technology, which relies on stem cells of early-stage embryos to create needed human cells, shows potential particularly in the field of therapeutic cloning.
Stem cell research is experiencing great advances, allowing humans to see a future where diseases of today will not be of such concern tomorrow. Once not well understood and even feared by the majority of the public, the use of stem cell research and technology is now being understood as an effective means of improving human life and simultaneously opening up new frontiers in medicine. Stem cell technology utilizes cells that can be changed to other types of cells to replace damaged cells in the body. Human stem cells can be found places in the body that need cells replaced on a regular basis, such as the skin, cells lining the lungs and intestinal tract, and the progenitors of red and white blood cells (Bohlin). There are...