While still a young and relatively new field, biomedical engineering has been reported as the fastest growing career in America. With a projected growth of seventy-two percent by the year 2018, the potential for new opportunities and projects is immense (“Fastest Growing Jobs”). While past innovation has solely included use of artificial devices, the field is now exploring the use of regenerative medicine and stem cells, cells that can be used for the growth of tissues or organs. The use of stem cells may lead to several future advancements including the regeneration of back discs, laboratory grown kidneys, and the cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. The creation of a new biomaterial that regenerates back discs can reduce and even terminate the pain caused from degenerative disc disease. Additionally, lab grown kidneys can revolutionize the medicine industry and supply those in need of a kidney organ transplant. Lastly, the infusion of stem cells into the brain could repair the minds of the multitude of people afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease. As science continues to progress, biomedical engineering will take new leaps remodel the field of medicine with the potent use of stem cells.
The human body is made up of millions of cells. Cells are divided into categories according to their roles, such as the brain cell or the skin cell. The cells within each category are programmed for different tasks and cannot be redesigned to perform a different job in the body (“Types of Cells”). However, stem cells differ from this definition because they are able to develop into different cell types rather than just having one specific purpose. One type of stem cell, the adult stem cell, are found inside of several types of tissue such as in the brain o...
... middle of paper ...
...s Help?"EuroStemCell.org. Euro
Stem Cell, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
"Fastest Growing Jobs in America." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 03 Sept. 2010. Web. 06
Apr. 2014.
Gallagher, James. "Scientists Make 'Laboratory-Grown' Kidney." BBC News. BBC, 14 Apr. 2013.
Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Howell, Whitney. "Duke Bioengineers Develop New Approach to Regenerate Back Discs." Duke
Engineering. Pratt School of Engineering, 16 July 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Leung, Yvette, and Amy Cowen. "Laboratory Kidneys: Bioengineering Success Offers New Hope for
Patients with Kidney Disease." Sciencebuddies.org. Science Buddies, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 31
Mar. 2014.
"Stem Cell Basics." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
28 Apr. 2002. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Types of Cells and Cancer." Cancer Help UK. Cancer Research UK, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 02 Apr.
2014.
Stem cells are the building blocks of the human body. Embryos consist of unspecialized stem cells that transform into the various specialized cells in the body such as cardiac, muscle or bone cells. Fetuses also have stem cells. However, the stem cells are divided into types like muscle, bone or nerves and don't perform a specialized function. Surprisingly, adult bodies also contain stem cells. In adults, stem cells are undifferentiated but limited to specific tissue type. When needed, the stem cells transform into the cells needed for repair and maintenance. The most common source of adult stem cells is bone marrow. Researchers also acquire stem cells from umbilical cords. Without stem cells, embryos could not develop into fetuses and adult
...ozzi E, Biffoni M, Todaro M, Peschle C, et al. Identification and expansion of human colon-cancer-initiating cells. Nature. 2007;445(7123):111-5.
The use of bioethics to alter one’s physical and mental happiness is portrayed as deceitful to many. This critical analysis evaluates an essay that pledges justification for self-improvement as morally right. The essay, “Bioengineering and Self-Improvement,” was written by Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics and the University of Pennsylvania and director of Center for Bioethics. As presented in the essay, the author is supports using technology in improving one’s vigor and appearance. In fact, he declares that bioengineering improves one’s self through boosted confidence and self-respect. The author furnishes strong points and his essay is convincing of positive outcomes provided with biotechnology. The author has effectively proven this
Scientists would be able to grow spinal cells from pluripotent stem cells. These cells could possibly repair spinal cord damage. Those afflicted by paralysis, such as Christopher Reeve, could possibly move again. Stem cells could also be used to grow nerve cells, possibly combating Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s. While it will be many years before scientists may actually be able to find a way to combat these diseases, there is a great promise in stem cells.
Stem cell research began in 1956 when Dr. E Donnall Thomas performed the first bone marrow transplant (“Adult stem cells are not more promising,” 2007). Since that time, research has evolved into obtaining cells from a variety of tissues. According to stem cell research professors, Ariff Bongso and Eng Hin Lee (2005), “Stem cells are unspecialized cells in the human body that are capable of becoming cells, each with new specialized functions” (p. 2). Stem cells are in various adult tissues, such as bone marrow, the liver, the epidermis layer of skin, the central nervous system, and eyes. They are also in other sources, such as fetuses, umbilical cords, placentas, embryos, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are cells from adult tissues that have been reprogrammed to pluripotency. Most stem cells offer multipotent cells, which are sparse...
Stem cells are a type of unspecialized cells that can revive themselves through the process of cell division (Abdel-Salam and Oma, 2011). They have a phenomenal potential to differentiate into other specific cell types in a living organism. These cells can also be activated to turn into organ-specific cells or tissues with defined activity but only under specific experimental set-up. Stem cells have the ability to remain as they are or divide further to renew deteriorated and damaged tissue cells. Recently it has been discovered that stem cells can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but still a lot of clinical trials are being conducted to find a specific government approved treatment.
This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as “a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.” Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in...
...velopment of tissues to replace damaged organs in the human body. Scientists have discovered for the first time how stem cells could be generated from embryo’s that were produced using adult stem cells.
There are many different types of stem cells that are being looked at for research. These include embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent cells. Embryonic stem cells are cells that have the potential to produce many different cells in the body. They are cells that are tak...
“Stem Cells: The Future of Medicine.” Medschool.umaryland.edu. University of Maryland School of Medicine Web 14 Nov 2013
Those who favour stem cell research are optimistic about the continued developments in stem cell research will open doors to many breakthrough discoveries in biomedical science. The scientific and ethical questions arise as rapidly as the reaching of milestones in stem cell research. There are two main types of stem cells, namely embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells in our body. But they have restricted-range of cells that they can further differentiate. On the contrary, embryonic stem cells have the ability to differentiate into nearly two hundred cell types in the human body, called pluripotency. The process of harvesting embryonic stem cells involves destruction of embryos (Mooney, 2009).
The wide range of prospective uses for stem cells could greatly improve the health and wellbeing of many people. In stem cell treatments, undifferentiated cells are programmed to form specific cells, which can then be transplanted to the afflicted area. Stems cells can possibly treat afflictions including “Alzheimer’s diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis” (“Stem Cell Basics”). Another important use is in drug testing. Drugs can be tested on stem cells that develop into the target tissue before using it on human test subjects, which improves safety. Finally, transplantation of organs created from stem cells could eliminate the need for human...
Many people feel that biology has become more advanced than physics. Biology has in fact become the new focus of the future as we tend to use it a lot in our daily lives. The study of Biotechnology is known as the branch of molecular biology that studies the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial processes. This study shows that our lives can be transformed.
Many great inventions have been made through research in biomedical engineering, for example, genetic engineering, cloning, and insulin. After insulin has been invented, there are still a lot of problems with the purity and the quantity of the insulin produced. Biomedical engineering devised a way to produce large quantities of insulin with a higher level of purity, which has saved a lot of human lives. Although biomedical engineering just been officially founded 200 years ago, its practice has been with us for centuries. According to The Whitaker Foundation website, 3,000-year-old mummy from Thebes, which uncovered by German archeologists, with a wooden prosthetic tied to its foot to serve as a big toe is the oldest known limb prosthesis and Egyptian listen to the internal of human anatomy using a hollow reed, which is what today’s stethoscope. No matter what the date, biomedical engineering has provided advances in medical technology to improve human health. These advances by biomedical engineering have created a significant impact to our lives. I have determined to become a biomedical engineer. Biomedical engineering will have a good prospect because it will become one of the most important careers in the future.
The field of regenerative medicine encompasses numerous strategies, including the use of materials and de novo generated cells, as well as various combinations thereof, to take the place of missing tissue, effectively replacing it both structurally and functionally, or to contribute to tissue healing[29]