2007-03-19 11:10:27 · 6 answers · asked by Casey 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Replacement parts.
Stem cells are undetermined cells so they can form any body part. If you liver is bad, if you are missing a leg, if your thyroid needs to be replaced then stem cells could do it.
The most interesting idea with stem cells is the human body part ink jet printer. Instead of ink the "printer" uses stem cells that have been programmed to duplicate a specific body part. The organ or body part is grown with stem cells being laid down in lawyers, growing the part. The biggest hurdle here is how to form blood vessels. Once that obstacle is overcome then instead of waiting months on a waiting list for a heart one could be printed to order in two days. This heart would suffer no chance of rejection. The major problem with transplanted hearts is that they only have a rudimentary connection to the nerves. If you included some nerve stem cells on the tips of the nerves then it could be possible to get a complete heart reintegration. This is a requirement for more complex organs.
Cloning in its worst example is depicted in the movie "The Island." In that movie pampered clones were kept on an island, so their parts could be harvested to help the human population. It meant that a lot of humans would have a better quality of life, and would survive when they normally couldn’t; all it cost was the death of a reasoning, intelligent person.
No ethical scientist wants to see that every happen. So they are working on cloning just the body part or growing the body part in an animal. Last year a scientific group created a group of mice with human ears on their backs. In theory the ears could be harvested without necessarily killing the mouse and then transplanted on a human. The science needs to advance more before that option becomes practical.
2007-03-19 11:25:40 · answer #1 · answered by Dan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
stem cell research can ultimately cure any disease known to man. that's why we are researching them. stem cells can be grown into any cells that is damaged in the human body. in a sense, growing these cells is cloning a specific part of a person. in the future, when we have worked out all the kinks and bugs, we will be able to remove the diseased area of a persons organ, or even the entire organ, and replace it with a healthy, genetically identical organ. this would greatly reduce recovery time, as well as ensure that the patients body accepts the new organ. we could even give a blind person sight, or a deaf person hearing. there is no end to what we could do to improve ourselves with stem cells.
2007-03-19 11:18:32 · answer #2 · answered by Warnstedt 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Parkinsons Disease
2007-03-19 11:13:17 · answer #3 · answered by shirley e 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Parkinson's disease; diabetes; cancer research; heart disease, and about a hundred others.
2007-03-19 11:17:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
diabetes renal and liver failure, parkinsons and alzheimers to name a few
2007-03-19 11:13:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
when they have to take your limbs off. or if you get badly burnt, it can grow skin for you.
2007-03-19 11:13:18 · answer #6 · answered by East-coast Girl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋