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What can an embryonic stem cells do that adult stem cells can't?

Jan 10, 2009 by bam_rocks911 | Posted in Biology

I'm doing a four page report on stem cells for my science class on stem cells. I need to know what embryonic stem cells can do theat adult stem cells can't and what adult stem cells can do that embryonic stem cells can't. Please include your resources. Thanks for helping.

Embryonic stem cells can form pretty much anything. It can make brain cells, cells for those with damaged spinal cords, to organs.
What they do is take a egg cell, and take the nucleus out. The donor of the new nucleus is the person who needs to have the orgain/cells/ect transplant.

They starve the cell until it goes dormant, and then they inject the nucleus into it; sending an electrical shock though it; with it thinking it got fertilized. The cells start to dived, and in a petri dish, with the right chemicals and such used, they can make a ear, a new heart, ect. with the embryonic cells.

Scientists regard this as a helpful new technology, since the body sees the cells as their own; as the DNA is a perfect match up. Adult stem cells, however, have the possibility of being rejected by the body, which the embryonic cells don't have. And adult stem cells aren't able to be used as widely; and can only make a few things, ect.

As far as adult stem cells abilities vs abilities the embryonic stem cell, II don't -think- there is anything positive. Other then adult stem cells might be more widely accessible, since getting an egg cell from a women can get rather high (I think it was 1,000USD per egg); let alone it's a rather painful process, if I recall correctly. ^_^;

I hope your report goes well. :) I was very interested in both sides regarding this hotly debated topic; along with being interasted in health and science. x)

What are the advantages of using embryonic stem cells as opposed to adult stem cells in research?

Dec 06, 2009 by make art, not war | Posted in Biology

I know that most people today are against embryonic stem cell research due to ethical reasons, and most people support adult stem cell research. My question is, are there any particular advantages in experimenting with or using embryonic stem cells in research or therapies? Why might a scientist want to use embryonic stem cells instead of adult stem cells?

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/bas ics3.asp

"Research on adult stem cells has generated a great deal of excitement. Scientists have found adult stem cells in many more tissues than they once thought possible. This finding has led researchers and clinicians to ask whether adult stem cells could be used for transplants."

Basically, we can't really know what embryonic stem cells offer because we've just started using them in research. I mean, it's been very uncommon and there are still a lot of restrictions.

What is the period when embryonic stem cells can produce any type of cell?

Sep 16, 2008 by Liam O | Posted in Biology

Reworded: As in, when is there embryonic stem cells in an embryo and when can they produce any type of cell?

Totipotent (totally potent) embryonic stem cells are capable of forming every type of body cell. Each totipotent cell could replicate and differentiate and become a human being. All cells within the early embryo are totipotent up until the 16 cell stage or so.

Next are the pluripotent embryonic stem cells which can develop into any of the three major tissue types: endoderm (interior gut lining), mesoderm (muscle, bone, blood), and ectoderm (epidermal tissues and nervous system). Pluripotent stem cells can eventually specialize in any bodily tissue, but they cannot themselves develop into a human being.

Embryonic Stem Cells

An overview of early development of a zygote to an embryo. Embryonic and somatic stem cells.

Court reinstates lawsuit challenging NIH embryonic stem cell ...

.- The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Friday that doctors performing adult stem cell research have 'competitive standing' to sue. The court therefore reinstated a federal lawsuit seeking to prohibit and overturn controversial guidelines for public funding of embryonic stem cell research.

The guidelines, released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in July 2009, listed regulations for embryonic stem cell research including the requirement for informed consent and prohibition of reimbursement for embryo donation.

In March 2009, President Obama signed an Executive Order stating an Administration policy to fund ethically "responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research...to the extent permitted by law." 

The lawsuit challenging the president's executive order was filed by a former MIT faculty member, a research and development director for AVM Biotechnology, Nightlight Christian Adoptions on its own behalf as well as "next friend for plaintiff embryos" and the Christian Medical Association.

The broad coalition of plaintiffs argues that the NIH guidelines which claim to implement the President's order are both illegal and unethical. �Since 1994,� a statement from the group notes, �Congress has expressly banned NIH from funding research in which human embryos 'are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death'."

The lawsuit states, �These Guidelines authorize public funding of research that depends on and, indeed, requires the destruction of living human embryos. As a result, these Guidelines violate the Federal Funding Ban, and are therefore invalid.�

The plaintiffs also argue that the guidelines were created without following the procedures required by law. They assert that NIH issued its guidelines with �an unalterably closed mind, having prejudged the relevant issues.� Moreover, they assert, NIH did not consider the �ethically and medically superior alternatives� of adult and induced pluripotent stem cell research.

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