Get documents about "Alyssa Jasper
Document Sample
Alyssa Jasper
January 14, 2011
Chemistry II H
Final Project
Biotechnology: Tissue Engineering- Recreating Organs With Stem Cells
Biotechnology is a broad multifaceted subject yet is most often described as applied
biology. The term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to
modify human health and the environment. Humans have developed different techniques within
biotechnology since prehistoric times. Biotechnology can be used as a process of growing food
and developing agriculture, and in the discovery of new medicines and vaccines.
Biotechnology is greatly improved human relationships and connection to food and
agriculture. Biotechnology originated in the production of food thousands of years ago, and is
widely used in the process of making food. For example, fruit juices can be fermented into wine,
milk can be converted into cheese or yogurt, and beer can be made by fermenting solutions of
malt. The first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin
cracker by using yeast in the process of fermentation.
Another area that has been vastly affected by biotechnology is cellular biology. Through
biotechnology, a better understanding of organisms and their cellular functions has been formed.
This information allows scientists and researchers to gain control of, and alter many functions
performed by cells and organisms. Techniques, such as gene splicing and recombinant DNA
technology, allows us to control the genetic elements by taking functioning lengths of DNA from
one organism and placing it into the cells of another organism. As a result cells can be used to
produce useful human molecules. Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of food,
and we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed.
Medicine is yet another place where you can use biotechnology. Biotechnology in
medicine began when scientists synthetically produced biologically made antibiotics. Alexander
Fleming discovered penicillin in 1929 and it is considered a paradigm for biotechnology.
Biotechnology is also being used in vaccines. Scientists are trying to integrate vaccines in regular
foods such as bananas in order to make the application of vaccines easier. People are more likely
to take the vaccine if it is in a banana rather than the needle itself. Other uses of biotechnology
in modern medicine includes drug production, determining genetic origins or disease, producing
organs for transplant, and developing other diagnostic methods.
Biotechnology has improved not only the quality of life but has greatly impacted society;
however, like everything else in the world, biotechnology has its advantages and disadvantages.
The test and information that can be learned using biotechnology is amazing. Main
disadvantages come in the form of ethical dilemmas. Long term ecological and biological effects
are unknown. Many critics ask when “enough is enough.” We alter bacterial DNA, and then
plant DNA, etc; will we (humans) know when to stop? and would it be okay to alter human
DNA?
Figure 1. The uses of stem cells within the
human body & society. Stem cells have multiple
application areas from making bone marrow to
being used in biopharmaceuticals.
Stem cells play a large role in biotechnology. A stem cell starts out as a cell in the body
that does not yet have a purpose or a specific differentiation function. In other words a red blood
cell has a job; it was designed by the body to carry oxygen from the lungs to tissues and
removing CO2. Its only function is to be a red blood cell it will never be able to be a heart cell
etc. Stem cells are the body’s raw materials. They make all other cells with specialized functions.
Under the right conditions, stem cells can undergo meiosis and divide into two cells, called
daughter cells. When there are two daughter cells present, two things can happen: differentiation
and self renewal. Self renewal means that new stem cells form while differentiation means that
specialized cells can form such as blood cells, brain cells, and heart muscle or bone. Stem cells
are the only cells in the body that can create new cell types.
Figure 2.
Hierarchy of Stem Cells.
Stem cells break down
into smaller and smaller
things such as nerve and
bone cells.
By maintaining a
constant watch and
monitoring the bones,
muscles, and cells,
doctors will be able to discover how the diseases and conditions develop. Stem cells will be a
great benefit to the medical and public health fields due to the fact that they can generate healthy
cells to take the place of the diseased ones. This field of study is called regenerative medicine.
Researchers are hoping that this field will grow, so that in time, they will be able to regenerate
damaged tissue as well as damaged cells. Stem cell therapies benefit those with Type 1 Diabetes,
spinal injuries, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, rheumatoid
arthritis, osteoarthritis and multiple sclerosis.
A future avenue of stem cell research is the use of stem cells to recreate organs. Scientists
have already begun to use stem cells to recreate tissues and bone muscles. Recreating organs will
help people with diseases and those who need transplants.
One situation in which this technology was use was on Claudia Castillo, a thirty year old
mother of two, who had her damaged windpipe replaced. The stem cells were grown in a lab at
Bristol University, England. The new windpipe was made from cells that were taken from her
own body. This process is called “tissue engineering.” The cells came from her body so she did
not have to take powerful drugs to stop her body from rejecting the organ. By avoiding these
drugs, Claudia won’t be at an increased risk of developing cancer like other transplant patients,
which is another significant advantage of tissue engineering (N. Graham)
Another situation where tissue engineering took place was with Geoffrey Gutner. He said
that “tissue engineering” has failed miserably many times due to the lack of blood vessels there
are to do testing with. The key to stem cells is to keep them adequately supplied with oxygen and
nutrients while they are outside the body.
Bob Beale, an editor from ABC Science online, reports in one of his articles, a story
about a research team led by Dr. Shulamit Levenberg. Levenberg and his team have taken a step
closer to growing living organs for transplant. Their research shows that the human embryonic
stem cells can be encouraged to grow on scaffolds into three-dimensional structures, like an
organ. When the cells were then stimulated, they differentiated into more complex structures.
These structures closely resembled characteristics of developing nerve tissue, cartilage, or the
liver. Researchers then took these structures and transplanted them into lab mice. They found
that they continue to express proteins and then also began to integrate with their hosts’ blood
supply. Although this is research is far from making an organ they are definitely taking a step in
the right direction where maybe eventually this research could turn into a pancreas or a liver
(B.Beale).
Figure 3. A visual representation
of tissue engineering. [expand]
Martin Korbling, M.D. says,
“These cells are capable of maintaining,
generating, and replacing terminally
differentiated cells within their own
specific tissue as a consequence of
physiologic cell turnover or tissue
damage due to injury. Hematopoietic
stem cells that give rise to blood cells
and move between bone marrow and
peripheral blood are the best-characterized adult stem cells in humans (M.Korbling). Recent
data suggest that adult stem cells generate differentiated cells beyond their own tissue
boundaries, a process termed “developmental plasticity.”
As stated before the ethical perspective of society is often something that may put a
process or field of study on hold. Stem cell therapy and the recreation of organs with stem cells
is a very controversial issue, and many parts of the research have been put on hold. As a
scientist, you often have to make sure that you have society on your side because you don’t want
them to rule your experiment or research unethical. Many of the members of society rule science
and technology as unethical but often lack the education/ knowledge on the topic and tend to
regurgitate information given by religious or political leaders instead of finding the truth. A
major misconception with the public forum is that stem cells are only available from fetus and
they must be aborted in order to harvest them. This is preposterous!
There is a lot in store for the future of stem cell research and I am very interested to see
what happens in the next generation.
Works Cited
Abraham, C. (2008, August 18). Scientists a step closer to creating replacement organs .
Retrieved from http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/aug/18/no-headline
replacementorgans/
Andrews, W. (2008, March 23). Medicine's cutting edge: re-growing organs. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/22/sunday/main396 219
Beale, B. (2003). Beale, b. (2003, october 14). stem cells used to create new organ tissue.
retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s966412.htm. News in
Science, Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s966412.htm
Graham, N. (2008). Organs grown from stem cells in lab successfully transplanted in.The
Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/19/organ
grown-from-stem cel_n_145049.html
Genetic Science Learning Center (2010, October 8) Stem Cell Therapies Today.
Learn.Genetics. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/sctoday/
Korbling, M. (2003). Adult stem cells for tissue repair — a new therapeutic concept?.The \
New England Journal of Medicine, Retrieved from
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra022361?hits
Lee, F. (2009). Creating organs from our own stem cells. HealthCare Hacks, Retrieved from
http://healthcarehacks.com/creating-organs-from-our-own stem-cells
Moore, S. (1967). Stem-cell migration in developing myeloid and lymphoid systems . The
Lancet, 290(1517), Retrieved from\
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_ud =B6T1B497SNDN
4HB&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F23%2F1967&_rdoc=1&mt=high&_orig=search&
rigin=search&_sort=d&_docanch=&view=c&_searchStrId=1548326406&_rerunOrigin
scholagoogle&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_uerid=10&md5=6ab
96c71087697386cf941524815b13&search ype=a
Stanford University Medical Center (2009, March 2). From Stem Cells To New Organs:
Scientists Cross Threshold In Regenerative
Watson, S. (2010). How stem cells work. How Stuff Works, Retrieved from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/cellular-microscopic/stem
cell.htm
