2008 Woodie Awards
Stem cell research: A "growing" field
Researchers hope to use stem cells for various functions, one of them being cloning
Amir Assadi-Rad
Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: News
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The concept of stem cell and cloning is not something new. Attempts to create life in vitro (outside of the body, in a glass container), can be documented back to 1878. In 1938, German embryologist Hans Spemann proposed the removal of the nucleus from an egg cell and added in its place a nucleus from another cell.
In 1978, the first test-tube baby was born in Oldham, England, a girl by the name of Louise Brown. In 1981, Elizabeth Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, VA.
In the 1960s, cloning began with tadpoles. It was not until 1996 that the first mammal, Dolly the sheep, was cloned and born in 1997.
What are stem cells?
By definition, stem cells are unspecialized cells that can multiply indefinitely and also can grow into different cells with specialized functions.
In order for specialized functions to develop, stem cells need some sort of stimulus, or signal, to begin the differentiation process. These signals can be a hormone, a growth factor, or a variety of other factors.
This so-called "soup" is one of many topics of research in laboratories around the world.
There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
The embryonic stem cells come from embryos that may have been leftover, fertilized human eggs from fertility clinics, or eggs that have been fertilized in a laboratory during the reproductive cloning process.
Adult stem cells can come from a variety of sources within the body, such as skin cells, bone marrow, and muscle cells. The type of adult stem cell that many are familiar with is from bone marrow.
Two other types of adult stem cells come from cancer cells and from the blood of the placenta and the umbilical cord. The cancer cells are called teratoma.
There are different categories of stem cells. The term potency has been used to describe the ability for stem cells to grow and differentiate into other types of cells.
In 1978, the first test-tube baby was born in Oldham, England, a girl by the name of Louise Brown. In 1981, Elizabeth Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, VA.
In the 1960s, cloning began with tadpoles. It was not until 1996 that the first mammal, Dolly the sheep, was cloned and born in 1997.
What are stem cells?
By definition, stem cells are unspecialized cells that can multiply indefinitely and also can grow into different cells with specialized functions.
In order for specialized functions to develop, stem cells need some sort of stimulus, or signal, to begin the differentiation process. These signals can be a hormone, a growth factor, or a variety of other factors.
This so-called "soup" is one of many topics of research in laboratories around the world.
There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
The embryonic stem cells come from embryos that may have been leftover, fertilized human eggs from fertility clinics, or eggs that have been fertilized in a laboratory during the reproductive cloning process.
Adult stem cells can come from a variety of sources within the body, such as skin cells, bone marrow, and muscle cells. The type of adult stem cell that many are familiar with is from bone marrow.
Two other types of adult stem cells come from cancer cells and from the blood of the placenta and the umbilical cord. The cancer cells are called teratoma.
There are different categories of stem cells. The term potency has been used to describe the ability for stem cells to grow and differentiate into other types of cells.