UNIT 2: Cells

Textbook Article

Stem Cell Research — Potential Solutions, Practical Challenges

Updated May 3, 2010 — A news program asks viewers to vote online: "Should stem cell research be banned? Yes or no?" Some people claim that stem cell therapy will revolutionize medicine. Others believe that some types of stem cell research violate ethical standards and are not justified by the potential benefits. Between these two positions exists a wide range of ideas about what is or is not acceptable. Would you know how to vote?

January 23, 2009Adult Stem Cells from Organism's Own Bone Marrow

Researchers at Imperial College London have found a way to stimulate the release of adult stem cells from the organism’s own bone marrow. Not only have the scientists found they can cause the release of the stem cells, they also...

September 17, 2007The Spoils of War — How T Cells Refuel to Wage War on Pathogens

In humans, T cells fight viruses and other invaders. Scientists have long thought T cells simply killed an enemy and then moved on to fight others, but new research suggests that some T cells use the spoils of their battles to win the larger war.

August 16, 2007Mature Skin Cells Yield Stem Cells

With all the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells, a new method of reprogramming adult cells could be one answer to the stem cell issue. And it couldn’t be more convenient. One day, you may look no farther than your own skin as a source of embryonic stem cells.

February 9, 2007Scandal over Falsified Results Roils the Stem Cell Research Community

In May of 2005, a paper by Dr. Woo Suk Hwang published in the prestigious journal Science reported that he and his team of South Korean scientists had successfully created eleven patient-specific stem cell lines cloned from the patients’ skin cells. His research suggested that science was one major step closer to tailor-made stem cells for any human. But all was not well.

February 7, 2007Controversy and Confusion over the Word Cloning

Stem cell researchers are hard at work trying to make somatic cell nuclear transfer a reliable way to produce stem cell lines that can be used in medical research and treatment. However, some scientists think that the word cloning is giving people the false impression that the object of the research is to clone human beings.