Module 2 Guided Questions

The World Medical Association (WMA) has developed the Declaration of Helsinki as a statement of ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, including research on what?

Including research on identifiable human material and DNA

According to the Food and Drug Administration, therapeutic stem cells should be regulated as drugs. (True or False?)

True

According to the video, the media has misled the public leading them to believe that only embryonic stem cells could be used to cure certain diseases (such as Parkinson's, or spinal cord defects). True or False?

True

According to this article "Embryos are not the kind of entity that has a justifiable claim on a woman for the type pf personal investment and involvement (including physical risk) necessarily generated by gestation, childbirth and child rearing." (True or false?)

True

How long can the cell lines be maintained?

Indefinetly!

What is regenerative medicine?

repair organs or tissues that are damaged by disease, aging or trauma, such that function is restored, or at least improved.

According to the general principles, medical research involving human subjects must be conducted only by individuals with what four characteristics?

1. Appropiate ethics 2. Scientific education 3. Training 4. Qualifications

What are the primary concerns evolutionary biologist, Beth Shapiro has surrounding the resurrection of the Wooly Mammoth?

1. Sequences that we recover from mammoth bone are very short and there are chemical damages that make them hard to read. - UV light, bacteria chewing sequences up... - Compares it to confetti 2. When you extract DNA from a mammoth bone or a piece of tissue, you don't just get mammoth DNA. - You can get eukaryotes, soil bacteria, and other identifiable things - have to throw away half of the data generated. is way too expensive and takes too much time to sequence a mammoth genome - 5 - 20% is what we want, the rest of it is thrown away 1. Physical constraints 2. Environmental influences - different stressors, experiences, etc. 3. Ethical considerations - have to be able to meet the physiological needs 4. ecological implications - ecosystem has changed so much since these animals existed

According to "The Duty to Do No Harm and "Informed Consent to Egg Sale" , what are the three risk laden stages in obtaining a woman's eggs?

1. Shutting down the woman's own ovaries 2. Stimulating them to produce multiple follicles rather than the single follicle usually produced in a cycle 3. Extracting the resulting ova

What are the potential uses of stem cells?

A stem cell therapy is a treatment that uses stem cells, or cells that come from stem cells, to replace or to repair a patient's cells or tissues that are damaged. The stem cells might be put into the blood, or transplanted into the damaged tissue directly, or even recruited from the patient's own tissues for self-repair

The Clinton And Gore administration stated that any discovery that touched upon human creation is not simply a matter of scientific inquiry but also a matter of what?

Also a matter of morality and spiritualility as well

What is an informed consent form or treatment consent form?

An Informed Consent Form or Treatment Consent Form outlines your role and what might happen to you. It should clearly provide a detailed description of the treatment or procedure in language you understand. It should explain your options for treatment, the risks, your rights and your responsibilities. A consent form is a good way to get the information you need. Should receive a consent form for any experimental stem cell treatment, even if not part of a clinical trial.

Why did the FDA rule that Regenerative Sciences could no longer culture cells?

Because it "alters the MSCs relevant biological characteristics and is therefore more than minimial manipulation

What are the benefits of reintroducing a hybrid of the Asian elephant into the Arctic?

Benefits the environment. The Arctic, deep carbon soil. We need to keep the temp low and the carbon high, we want it to photosynthesize Herbivores are needed to maintain the grass, as old grass doesn't synthesize as well

What is the primary type of cancer currently treated with Stem cell Therapy?

Blood cell cancers

Where does Shapiro feel our goals and efforts for cloning and CRISPR technology be focused?

Can be injected, chop out the part of the genome that we don't need. Therefore the "mammoth" version of the gene could be stuck into the elephant gene and replace it

What are the consequences if an undifferentiated cell is placed into an organism?

Can cause a tumor called a teratoma

What are examples of vascular cells?

Capillary beds. Reds blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

What primary area of research (with regard to childhood diseases) is Ruff working on?

Cerebral palsy

What happens to our stem cells as we age?

Decrease in number, and with wear and tear, they get weak and weary. They "lay down and take a nap". Putting MSC's in, the progenitor stem cells wake up, re-energize and start creating new cartilage, bone and ligaments

How are stem cells defined in the patient handbook?

Defined by two properties: 1. They can self-renew (divide and give rise to more stem cells of same kind) 2. They can mature or "differentiate" into specialized cells that carry out a specific function (skin, muscle blood, for example)

Why was Dr. Welker suspended from practice?

Dr. Wekler informed his patients that induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) were the fix to their varied ailments: their arthritis, patellar tears, and vertigo Dr. Wekler administered a "fat transfer" on a patient which was not approved by the US food and Drug Admin

According to the video, what is the definition of Eugenics?

Eugenics means: science of improvement of the human race through better breeding - Through precise choosing of traits and characteristics that we think are preferred over others

The Eugenics movement in the first part of the 20th century resulted in sterilization of certain members of the population whose genes were determined to not be desirable. How is cloning related to this movement?

Eugenics: word means "good genes" Cloning will be used to make embryos that are composed of the "good genes". Whenever we try to do this, we haven't chosen very well. We have chosen around our biases on race, etc. We're now going to produce the embryo that is the "right one" in the first place

One type of multipotent cell can make any other type of cell (for example fat multipotent stem cells are able to make cells of the brain or eye). True or false?

FALSE

Physicians do not need to seek informed consent when obtaining identifiable human material for research purposes. (True or false?)

FALSE

According to the article, it is ok for doctors to offer a choice for women that inflicts harm because the woman donating the eggs has signed an informed consent and is being paid for her services. (True or false?)

False

If you did not have stem cells, how long could you live?

For about an HOUR

The California state senate approved a bill (AB926) sponsored by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The bill stated that it was gender discrimination to do what?

Gender discrimination to bar women from selling their eggs when men can be paid for selling their sperm

In the early 20th century, 30 states in the United States adopted Eugenics laws requiring citizens to be sterilized with conditions thought to be inherited. What were some of these conditions?

Insanity, criminal tendancies, retardation, epilepsey

How does Church 's lab deal with missing segments of DNA in ancient specimens?

Just need enough information to put into the computer. The computer puts it together and synthesizes it. All missing parts are healed by the synthesis

How are Dolly's chromosome different from other sheep her age?

Makes her a young sheep in an old sheeps body Dollys TELOMERES were shorter than expected for a two and a half year old sheep. Dolly has inherited life history. The telomeres are what you would expect for an 8 or 9 year old sheep

According to the video, before researchers can use cloning in their research they must do what (in the code of practice)?

Must show the "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority" that it is good science and necessary science: there is no alternative Only relevant science will be done in this area because it's so closely regulated

As soon as the news of "Dolly the cloned Sheep" got out, along with the possibilities of human cloning, President Clinton launched an immediate 90 day study of the cloning issue by what committee?

National Bio Ethics Advisory Comiittee

According to the video, how many embryos were lost (how many unsuccessful attempts) when trying to clone a sheep before Dolly?

Nearly 300 embryos were created and then destroyed

According to "Making Stem Cells from skin," what happens to excess embryos at fertility clinics?

Normally frozen and stored at fertility clinics.

Women who provide ova are not subjects protected by the safeguards of a properly conducted clinical trial but merely providers for what?

Of raw materials for research

What is a chimera?

Organisms that contain cells / tissues from another individual of same or different species

President Clinton was a politician who was responding to the immediate "Yuck factor" from the public response. Where does this video say that the public response came from?

Public response came from: movies and science fiction, dozens of movies that display scientists as "improper". Ex: Frankenstein They think scientists are doing these horrendous things

What is the difference between reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning?

Reproductive cloning: - Therapeutic cloning: - Create an identical twin Reproductive cloning produces copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning produces embryonic stem cells for experiments aimed at creating tissues to replace injured or diseased tissues

According to the general principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, the goal of generating new knowledge for medical research can never take precedence over the rights and interests of who?

Rights and interests of individual research subjects

Social issue regarding stem cell based therapy include

Social issues include concerns about the destruction of embryos, the distribution of the benefits of the research, and the protection of both physical and privacy interests of egg and sperm donors and clinical research subjects.

According to "Ethics of Stem Cell Research, "What are some of the capacities that are necessary for the right to Life?

Some of the capacities that have been proposed include: reasoning, self awareness and agency

How does Dr. describe regenerative medicine?

Taking stem cells from fat and transplanting them to an area that is in short supply. Utilizing bodys own stem cells or from an outside source, in order to stimulate tissue healing and/or repair

Who is the watchdog and regulatory agency for therapeutic stem cell research?

The FDA

Before a study involving human subjects begins, the research protocol must be submitted to who?

The concerned research ethics committee

Why is Rabbi Gabriel Elias against cloning?

To make a human being: takes a man and a woman, an egg and a sperm come together. That is what God gave us to do. Once we eliminate that, and start doing it for ourselves, we feel that we become God ourselves Once man starts thinking he's God, he will eventually destroy himself

How is CRISPR technology incorporated into resurrecting the Mammoth?

To take an elephant genome, change DNA of the elephant in order to make it look more like a mammoth You have to change one gene or very few genes at a time. Chance that there are off-target affects

Regenerative Sciences was using patient's mesenchymal stem cells in its Regenexx procedure to treat what?

To treat orthopedic problems

A physician may use an unproven intervention to save a person's life, re-establish health or alleviate suffering if other treatments or interventions do not exist or are ineffective (True or false?)

True

According to "Frankenstein Science" as technology evolves cultural and political attitudes usually evolve to accommodate the advancements. True or False?

True

Dr. Brent Blackwelder (President of "Friends of the Earth") claims that genetic engineering will be similar to "invasive species" which could harm the environment. True or false?

True

Hitler had a true desire to be cloned, along with his master race. True or false?

True

Hyper stimulating the ovaries may produce cysts, enlargement of the ovaries and severe fluid retention, with a potentially fatal outcome. (True or false?)

True

According to the video the public will not feel comfortable with this technology unless what happens?

Until it is ethically correct and the science community has earned our trust Ethical manner that is not going to infringe on people's rights

What are the concerns surrounding the hybridization of the Wooly Mammoth?

What will happen along the way if there are mistakes in the genome modifications?...

What was the cloning scandal that occurred in Korea?

Where Prof Wang had been known around the world because of successful experiments of cloning human embryos Ended up being fragulant.

What does Dr. believe the next great in advance in medical care will be? Mesenchymal stem cell will change the face of l

Will not be a magic pill, but a miraculous cell called the MSC: mesenchymal stem cell Change the face of medicine as we know it

According to the article, If AB926 becomes law, we will witness a disturbing national trend. What trend is she referring to?

Women's research eggs become the hot new bio-product, increasing the profits of the multibillion-dollar-per year infertility industry at the expense of women's health, safety and possibly, their future fertility.

According to "Ethics of Stem Cell Research," The standard view of those that oppose Human Stem Cell Research is that a human being begins to exist with the emergence of what?

Emergence of the one-cell zygote at fertilization

According to the conversations in this video, is the following statement true or false? "As long as law is regulating whether or not stem cell research is legal, then scientists need not worry about the consequence of their actions".

False

What do the Pericyte cells do?

Finger like projections that attach to the capillary wall and monitor everything in the local area. Whenever there's damage, they break off, and recruit a whole new healing system "orchestra" to promote healing and repair

What other conditions are benefitted by stem cells?

- Multiple sclerosis - Rheumatoid arthritis - Osteoarthritis - Autism - Spinal cord injury - Asthma - Frailty of aging All of the above are being researched currently Excess inflamation, wear and tear, immune problems.

What are the three sources of stem cells (according to the Stem Cells Education Website)?

1. Adult stem cells (ASC) (somatic stem cells) 2. Embryonic stem cells (ESC) 3. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)

What are the two eye diseases Foltz mentions that stem cell usage provides great hope for?

1. Age releated macular degeneration - trials happening now that are having stem cells put into cells that replace the cell damaged from macular degneration (worded by me) 2. Retinitis Pigmentosa - patients have vision when children, then loss of night vision, then periphhearl, then total blindness. - reprogrammed cells can help: typo in DNA causes cells in eyes to degenerate.

According to "A Brief Case for the Moral Permissibility of Stem Cell Research," what are the two central questions regarding the ethics of stem cell research?

1. Do embryos have any moral status? are embryos entites that deserve moral respect and are they owed some duty by moral agents, due to their intrinsic properties or relationships with moral agents? 2. If embryos have some moral status, what kind, or degree, of respect are they entitled to and what paticular duties are they owed by moral agents?

Under the National Academy of Science, What does ESCROC stand for?

ESCROC: Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight Comittee

Do you see any ethical consequences of her surgery?

No

What is the Hinxton group?

Policies governing stem cell research. International consortion of scientists, ethicists, policy makers, lawyers, philosophers, that are interested in fostering ethically and scientifically defensible research

What are progenitor cells? tissue specific cells

Progenitor cells: - Tissue specific stem cells. Every organ in the body has them, and they are unique to that area of the body

What are four competing views about the moral status of the developing embryo?

1. People argue that human embryos have the moral status of persons and are considered protectable human life: therefore, embryos should not be used for research, specially research resulting in their destruction. Moral status article: FOur different criteria for four views ofmoral status: biological humanity, personhood, posession of interests, and having a future-like-ours (FLO). 1. Biological Humanity View: - All members of the homo sapiens speices have full moral status and moral rights. All human beings count, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or gender. 2. Personhood - Persons who have moral status and genetic humanity is only an imprecise marker for personhood. Warren suggests that traits that are most central to the concept of personhood are sentience, consciousness, self-consciousness, capacity for reasoning, self-motivated activity, and capacity to use language. 3. Posession of interests - Moral status is contingent on possession of all the person-making characteristics she lists. Beings that have none of these characteristics cannot be persons, or human beings, in the moral sense. Since embryos have none of these characteristics, they cannot be members of the moral community. 4. Future-Like-Ours (FLO) - Important difference between plants and embryos: embryos can and plants cannot become conscious beings with interests and a welfare of their own. This insight is basis of Don Marquis's FLO, account of wrongness of abortion.

What are the two basic ethical questions that Leah Foltz mentions with regard to the frozen embryos?

1. Should we consider these frozen embryos a life? 2. If they will be discarded eventually anyway, wouldn't it be better to use them for medical research?

According to the NOVA Cloning site, the blastocyst has three parts. What are those three parts?

1. The inner cell mass 2. The trophoblast cell layer 3. Inner cell cavity

When were the first induced pluripotent stem cells derived?

2006 by Shinya Yamanaka

What is the source of embryonic stem cells ?

Derived from blastocysts: embryos that are a week old. - Blastocyst has about 100 cells. Human blastocysts have been donated to research from vitro clinics

What were the consequences of the surgery she describes when doctors combined dermal filler with the fat stem cells? (what types of cells began to grow in the patient's eyes?)

Dermal filler differentiates fat stem cells into bone. (The fat stem cells were taken off of her body). The woman was left with bone fragments in her eyelids.

Who is involved in ESCROC?

Multi-disciplinary comittee. Includes: scientists, ethicists, attorneys, and non-instutitionary members

Why does Dr. claim the public has not heard more about stem cell therapy?

No drug company is going to tell the public about all of the benefits of stem cell therapy. Because it destroys their industry. No ads of stem cell therapy, it is up to us to share what the future could hold.

This news report came out in 2018. At that time could Stem cell treatment cure lung cancer or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)?

No. Many blood type cancers

What are the three ethical concerns that arise with stem cell research

destruction of human blastocysts • donation of eggs requires informed consent • concern about misapplication for reproductive cloning

What should you be cautious about if you are considering stem cell therapy?

picture

What are the four embryonic stages that Dr. Farouk Mahmoud discusses in the video?

1. The embryo outside the womb 2. The embryo implanted into the womb 3. Gestation of 6-8 weeks when fetus is fully formed 4. 120 days after conception when ____ takes place, which is an important milestone

According to "Ethics of Stem Cell Research," Why do Smith and Brogard (2003) and McMahan (2002) reject the stipulation that the early human embryo is a human being?

According to one view: the cells that comprise the early embryo are a bundle of homogeneous cells that exist in the same membrane but do not form a human organism because the cells do not function in a coordinated way to regulate and preserve a single life. Therefore, disaggregating the cells of the 5-day embryo to derive HESCS does not entail the destruction of a human being. While each of the cells is alive, they only become parts of a human organism when there is a substantial cell differentiation and coordination, which occurs around day 16 after fertilization

Why don't doctors just inject pluripotent stem cells into any portion of the body we need?

Because they can turn into a teratoma tumor. Once stem cells are in, we cannot control what they will turn into

What is unique about the 14th day during embryonic development (called "the primitive streak")

Beginning of consciousness, organs, and beyond this point, one should no longer research

For what diseases or conditions is there a potential use for stem cell therapy?

Disorders of the blood and immune system and acquired loss of bone marrow function can, in some cases, be treated with blood stem cell transplantation. Transfer of blood stem cells by bone marrow transplant. Umbilical cord blood, like bone marrow, is often collected and used experimentally as alternative to bone marrow in transplantation. For tissues and organs such as skin and cornea, stem cells contained in these tissues contribute to long-term regeneration Other stem cell treatments are experimental

Because most blastocysts were created before stem cell research, most donors were not asked for what?

Donors were not asked for their permission to use these left-over blastocysts for research

How do scientists identify stem cells?

Fluorescent markers can be used to identify stem cells hidden among ordinary adult cells. Here, human embryonic stem cells are recognized by the marker proteins expressed, which are green

The National Academies prohibit the introduction of human cells into what?

Human cells into the blastocyst of a non-human primate, or introduction of any animal / human cells into a human blastocyst.

When were the first mice stem cells obtained? What about human embryonic stem cells?

Mice stem cells: 1981 Human embryonic stem cells: 1998

What might be the benefits of allowing the embryos to grow beyond the 14-day limit?

Promising avenues for better understanding human development and disease. Investigation of human development, cancer cell growth, congenital diseases and the cuses of miscarriages

According to the NOVA Cloning site, (Links to an external site.) What is the first step in the cloning process?

Remove the nucleus from an unfertilizied egg cell. Monitor with fine surgical extraction with a microscope, suction pipette to hold egg cell steady and a glass needle to remove cells nucleus

What are the three types of stem cells mentioned in this video?

1. Tissue-Specific 2. Pluripotent 3. Induced pluripotent

All living organisms deserve at least some minimal moral status because all living things have what?

All living things have a good of their own.

What are the differences between an approved clinical treatment and an experimental intervention?

Approved clinical treatment: - medical practice that has been shown through formal process of clinical trials to be reasonably safe and effective for treating a paticular disease / condition. Usually approved by a national agency or regional regulatory agency. Experimental intervention: - new, untested, or different from usual medical treatment. It has not been proven that it is safe or that it will work in treating the disease

What is the significance behind the 14-day rule and why did scientists originally develop it?(explained in the article "Stem cell community drops 14-day embryo rule," and various links within the article)

Before 14 days the embryo hasn't yet decided how many people it is going to be. The process of gastrulation occurs at about 14 days after fertilization, which is why it has been recommended that research on human embryos should be limited to the first 14 days of development. At around 14 days after fertilization, the nervous system is too undeveloped to make possible any experiences, even the most rudimentary ones, such as the experience of pain. Without experiences of any kind, embryos cannot have wants. Without wants, they cannot have a stake in anything, including their health or continued existence.

If all cells contain the same DNA, why do different cells have different functions?

Cells only read the part that is going to help their function. ex: a heart cell will only read the part telling it to contract the heart

According to this article, it is ethically permissible for embryos to be destroyed in the course of responsible stem cell research provided they are destroyed with a sincere attitude of respect and provided they are used only with voluntary, informed consent of what?

Consent of both gamete sources

What were the first guidelines available in the United states for governing the use of stem cells in research?

Designed by scientists, that asked the government for guidelines to prevent bad outcomes. The national academy

Although using nuclear transfer to produce stem cells is not the same as reproductive cloning some are concerned about the potential misapplication of the technique for reproductive purposes and what two other ethical concerns?

Egg donation, which requires informed consent, and possible destruction of blastocysts

What type of stem cell therapy is Elsa receiving?

Elsa can't walk without pain and needs two knee replacements. Instead, she's using stem cells harvested from her own body to heal her knee. Liposection to extract fat cells from her abdomen, extracts the stem cells back into her knee.

What role can stem cells play in basic research?

For example, in 2005, human embryonic stem cells were shown to differentiate into active functioning nerve cells when placed in mouse brains. Scientists also made significant progess in deriving pancreatic cells from adult stem cells. In 2006, scientists were able to derive embryonic stem cells from the morula of a mouse, and embryonic stem cells were first grown without animal products in the culture. Results of these and other recent experiments must be replicated and consistently demonstrated by other researchers before they become generally accepted by the scientific community. Offer a window for addressing many of biology's fundamental questions. page 19 of "understanding stem cells: an overview of science and issues from national academies, 1st part of module

According to "Stem Cells: The Future: An Introduction to iPS cells," What types of patients does Dr. Shinyayamanaka hope to help with his technology?

Hopes to help treat incurable spinal chlora injury patients

Legal issues that will affect stem cell application include:

Legal issues include: how to address intellectual property concerns and how to apply and enforce diverse and sometimes conflicting state and national laws. Social issues include concerns about the destruction of embryos, the distribution of the benefits of the research, and the protection of both physical and privacy interests of egg and sperm donors and clinical research subjects.

As opposed to the debate surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells, what does Ruff feel the most pressing issue in stem research is?

Misrepresentation of stem cell strategies Doctors use them for profit, when they're not proven to be safe.

How do I know if an approved stem cell therapy is safe?

No medical treatment can ever be described as completely safe. There are risks involved with all medical treatment, some small, some great. These risks, even if they are small, should be explained clearly to you by a medical professional.

Does the author accept the argument that embryos have full and equal rights of persons, because they are human?

No, the author does not accept this argument. She says that the claim is rationally defensible. If it were true, then a petri dish teeming with living human cells cultured from someone's cancerous tumer would be full of persons because these cells are human, which is absurd.

What is the message behind this news report?

Not supporting stem cell therapy. Saying that stem cells doesn't work and patients have gotten worse from it - concern for public safety and the unregulated and dangerous procedures

Define an "enucleated egg."

Once the egg cell's nucleus is outside of the egg, the nuclear material is no longer needed. What remains is an enucleated egg that contains protein, RNA, and other factors that help to establish embryonic stem cells

What are the research implications and potential uses for stem cells?

Potential uses: Adult stem cell: - Scientists hope to yield therapies for diseases such as type1 diabetes and repair of heart muscle following heart attack. Also potential in reprogramming ASCs to cause them to transdifferentiate ESC therapies: - Apply knowledge to get ESCs to differentiate into cell of choice that is needed for patient therapy. Including: diabetes, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and vision / hearing loss Induced pluripotent: - Can be reprogrammed to an ESC like state. These mechanisms to differentiate cells may be applied to generate cells that are needed, and avoids use of histocompatibility and lifelong immunosuppression, which is needed if transplants use donor stem cells.

The process of IVF requires the retrieval of a woman's eggs via a surgical procedure after the woman has undergone an intensive regimen of what?

Regimen of "fertility drugs" that stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs

What is a successful stem cell culture and what are the challenges in maintaining some of these cell lines?

Successful stem cell culture: - one that keeps the cells healthy, dividing and unspecializied. Challenges: : "Over time, all cell lines...change, typically accumulating harmful genetic mutations. There is no reason to expect stem cell lines to behave differently. While there is much that can be learned using existing stem cell lines...such concerns necessitate continued monitoring of these cells as well as the development of new stem cell lines in the future."

Mesenchymal stem cells do what?

The conductor of the healing system. It initiates and orchestrates the healing process. "injury specific" - stem cells that are data driven

Which portion of the blastocyst is used in the creation of stem cells?

The inner cell mass - Part that in nature goes onto form the embryo after implantation in the womb, and therefore contains the stem cells

According to Professor Hermeren, the sanctity of life and the protection of the embryo are not the only values to be concerned with regarding stem cell research. What other group do we have a moral obligation to?

Those who suffer from incurable diseases.

Currently, are all forms of stem cell research in the US legal at the federal level?

Yes. That it, it is not illegal to make or work with new embryonic stem cell lines.

Why do researchers need embryonic stem cells now that they can reprogram adult skin cells to create induced pluripotent stems cells (IPS) which mimic embryonic stem cells?

Opponents of embryonic stem cell research prefer iPS, but researchers still need access to embryonic stem cells because the study of iPS cells is in its infancy, and the reprogramming approach may have serious limitations. The standard technique to create iPS cells uses viruses to transfer the reprogramming genes into the skin cells. Researchers need to determine whether the reprogrammed cells really can give rise to specialized cells that are indistinguishable from the specialized cells formed by embryonic stem cells. (Research on human embryonic stem cells, somatic cell nuclear transfer and 'adult' or tissue-specific stem cells needs to continue in parallel. All are part of a research effort that seeks to expand our knowledge of how cells function, what fails in the disease process, and how the first stages of human development occur. It is this combined knowledge that will ultimately generate safe and effective therapies.)

The largest potential source of blastocysts for stem cell research come from where?

Vitra Fertilization Clinics

What are some of the special considerations for stem cell therapies?

1. Challenges in preparing stem cells for use as a medicine. They cannot necessarily be produced and tested for quality in large batches and treatments may be specific to one patient. 2. For some diseases, it is still being determined which cells work best to repair a damaged / diseased tissue, and how to get those cells to the right place in the body. 3. Side effects and long-term safety must be determined, since transplanted cells may remain for many years in patients' bodies. Careful monitoring and extended follow-up of patients who receive stem cell treatments is important

What are the two things that make stem cells special?

1. Has to be able to reproduce itself indefinetly by dividing over and over again. Normal cells can't do this, they can only multiply a certain number of times 2. Stem cells are UNspecalizied. With proper guidance, the stem cell can become any type of tissue in the body

What new ethical questions arise from the use of iPS cells (according to Dr. Shinyayamanaka?)

1. IPS cells could be used to produce an embryo that could be implanted. Therefore, one day a human being could be created from a single piece of skin. 2. Do we stop the research? IPS cells are easy to make. 3. Studying how to make functional human sperm / eggs may bring benefits for infertile couples.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a research study designed to answer specific questions about a new treatment or a new way of using current treatments. Clinical trials are used to establish whether new treatments are safe and effective. It is very important to understand that the new treatment being tested is unproven. It may not be better than, or even as good as, existing treatments.

Why was there a class action lawsuit against the Lung Institute?

Accused of offering "shaim treatments" and "shaim deception" The patients are sueing the Lung institute they got worse, or lost their spouse after trying stem cell therapy. Howveer, it cannot be known yet if stem cell therapy caused other health issues

What are the pros and cons of each of the three types of stem cells?

Adult stem cells: Pros: Trans differentiate and and reprogramming of these cells is possible but is not well studied Thought to be less likely to be rejected if used in transplants Success has already been demonstrated in various clinical applications Cons: Limitations on ASC ability to differentiate are still uncertain; currently thought to be multi or unipotent. Cannot be grown for long periods of time in culture Usually a very small number in each tissue making them difficult to find and purify Currently there is no technology available to generate large quantities of stem cells in culture Embryonic Stem cells: Pros: Can maintain and grow for 1 year or more in culture Established protocols for maintenance in culture ESCs are pluripotent cells that can generate most cell types By studying ESCs, more can be learned about the process of development Cons: Process to generate ESC lines is inefficient Unsure whether they would be rejected if used in transplants. Therapies using ESC avenues are largely new and much more research and testing is needed If used directly from the ESC undifferentiated culture prep for tissue transplants, they can cause tumors (teratomas) or cancer development Induced pluripotent stem cells Pros: Abundant somatic cells of donor can be used Issues of histocompatibility with donor/recipient transplants can be avoided Very useful for drug development and developmental studies Information learned from the "reprogramming" process may be transferable for in vivo therapies to reprogram damaged or diseased cells/tissues Cons: Methods for ensured reproducibility and maintenance, as differentiated tissues are not certain. Viruses are currently used to introduce embryonic genes and has been shown to cause cancers in mouse studies

What are stem cells?

Cells that are undifferentiated, no specific job or function. No specific structure or function. Body uses stem cells to replace worn out cells when they die.

What is the usual process for developing a new medical treatment?

Clinical translation Process: - starts with general research into how a tissue / cell works and what goes wrong in a paticular disease / injury. To test whether a new invention might work: - studies are done first in vitro and wherever possible animals with a disease / injury have one like ours. PRE CLINICAL STUDIES should be reviewed by other experts, published and repeated before moving to research in patients. After demonstration of reasonable expectation that treatment is safe: - permission is sought to conduct a clinical trial in humans. Small number of people. As safety & side effects is better understood: - number of patients gradually increases and new intervention is compared against existing treatments Once safety and effectiveness is demonstrated: - a national / regional regulatory agency will approve the use of treatment

What are the obstacles that must be overcome before the potential uses of stem cells in cell therapy will be realized?

First, an appropriate source of stem cells must be found. The process of identifying, isolating and growing the right kind of stem cell, for example a rare cell in the adult tissue, is painstaking. In general, embryonic and fetal stem cells are believed to be more versatile than tissue-specific stem cells. Secondly, once stem cells are identified and isolated, the right conditions must be developed so that the cells differentiate into the specialized cells required for a particular therapy. This too will require a great deal of experimentation. Thirdly, a system that delivers the cells to the right part of the body must be developed and the cells once there must be encouraged to integrate and function in concert with the body's natural cells. Furthermore, just as in organ transplants, the body's immune system may need to be suppressed to minimize the immune reaction set off by the transplanted cells. (While results from animal models are promising, the research on stem cells and their applications to treat various human diseases is still at a preliminary stage. As with any medical treatment, a rigorous research and testing process must be followed to ensure long-term efficacy and safety.)

How does the article the "Ethics of Stem Cell Research," morally distinguish the creation of embryos for reproductive purposes from the creation of embryos for research and therapeutic reasons?

First: each embryo created for procreative purposes is originally viewed as a potential child in the sense that each is a candidate for implantation and development into a mature human. In contrast, embryos created for research or therapies are viewed as mere tools from the outset. Second, while embryos created for research and therapy are produced with the intent to destroy them, the destruction of embryos created for reproduction is a foreseeable but unintended consequence of their creation

In order to develop embryonic stem cell lines, scientists remove cells from which portion of the blastocyst?

From the inner cell mass region

According to the author, it is morally wrong to try to stomp every ant he can find on the sidewalk, however if they enter his house and start eating his sugar he is entitled to do what?

He is entitled to kill them

At what stage in embryonic transfer do we call the embryo a blastocyst?

Nuclear Transfer The egg which contains genetic material of the skin cell is stimulated to form a blastocyst from which embryonic stem cells can be derived. Through nuclear transfer, scientists could produce a blastocyst by inserting the nucleus from an adult cell (for example, a skin cell) into an egg without a nucleus. All the stem cells derived from this blastocyst are genetically matched to the adult cell.

What do transcription factors do?

Tells the skin cell to turn on genes and produce proteins that will allow it to divide over and over again to produce any type of tissue in the body. Process is now called reprogramming

With improvements in scanning techniques, scientists are now able to take accurate images of body structures. Then, using AutoCAD and 3-D software researchers are able to make CAD designs which can be printed using 3D bioprinters. How does this technology assist Ruff in the application of her research?

The bioprinters use special bio gels to create structures used in the body. Can print a trachea, etc. Can print structures in the body and use own structures as a transplant

What is the difference between tissue specific and embryonic stem cells?

Tissue specific: replace existing cells in organs as they wear out and die Embryonic: created from leftover embryos that are donated from patients at fertility clinics - Are pluripotent, meaning they can be grown into any kind of tissue in the body

Dr. Val Wilson (a Christian and Researcher in Stem Cell Biology) supports stem cell research. How does she justify her support of such research?

To cure an incurable disease

Describe stem cell therapy.

Treatment that uses stem cells or cells that come from stem cells, to replace / repair a patients cells / tissues that are damaged. Stem cells might be put into blood or transplanted into damaged tissue directly, or recruited from the patient's own tissues for self-repair

Any area in the body that needs healing is initiated by stem cells. True or false?

True

The blastocyst is destroyed in the process of Stem cell retrieval. True or false?

True

The second step of cloning involves the transfer of a nucleus from a donor cell. True or false?

True

The stem cells that are created by the nuclear transfer method are considered clones of the original adult cell. True or false?

True

What should you look for in you are considering stem cell therapy?

You need to be sure that there is good scientific evidence that the treatment is safe and effective, and that your rights as a patient are being respected. To begin, ask for evidence that: picture Some small research studies may not need this level of regulatory approval, but must have approval from an independent review committee and support from clinical and admin leadership where procedure will be done