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Researchers Turn Stem Cells into Heart Cells
by
findingDulcinea Staff
A team of researchers succeeded in turning embryonic stem cells into key heart cells. Such cells could eventually be used to help treat heart conditions in humans.
30-Second Summary
Researchers have created three types of human heart muscle cells from embryonic stem cells. Once the heart cells were created, researchers implanted them into mice and found that the cells improved heart function in the rodents.
The researchers who created the heart cells say they could be used to test the effects of drugs or to make artificial tissue to transplant into an actual human heart.
Stem cells, which have the potential to become many other types of cells in the body, have intrigued researchers for years. They believe the cells could be used some day to treat conditions like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease.
There are several kinds of stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and stem cells from umbilical cords. Many scientists favor the use of embryonic stem cells in research because they can turn into any tissue in the body. Other cells are more limited in their potential.
But whether the use of embryonic stem cells destroys human life has made this research a hot button issue in political, ethical and religious circles.
The researchers who created the heart cells say they could be used to test the effects of drugs or to make artificial tissue to transplant into an actual human heart.
Stem cells, which have the potential to become many other types of cells in the body, have intrigued researchers for years. They believe the cells could be used some day to treat conditions like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease.
There are several kinds of stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and stem cells from umbilical cords. Many scientists favor the use of embryonic stem cells in research because they can turn into any tissue in the body. Other cells are more limited in their potential.
But whether the use of embryonic stem cells destroys human life has made this research a hot button issue in political, ethical and religious circles.
Headline Link: Creating heart cells
Researchers have created three types of human heart muscle cells from embryonic stem cells. One of the largest successes from their research was the creation of a “progenitor cell” from which the three major types of heart cells were created. It’s possible the researchers could use these progenitor cells to help make a piece of heart tissue that may be used for transplant into an actual human heart.
Source: Washington Post
Background: Approving stem cell research
On Aug. 9, 2001, President Bush announced that he had decided to provide $250 million in federal funds to stem cell research. In making his announcement, the President acknowledged the conflict surrounding stem cells. He said the issue “lies at a difficult moral intersection, juxtaposing the need to protect life in all its phases with the prospect of saving and improving life in all its stages.”
Source: The White House
In 2001, Time magazine examined how President Bush arrived at his decision to fund stem cell research. “For a while this year it seemed that George W. Bush buttonholed everybody he met to get his or her view on stem-cell research,” the magazine explained. “Almost everyone in the White House, well, he asked your opinion at one point,” said a presidential counselor.
Source: Time
Opinions: The stem cell debate
Scientists, ethicists, politicians and parents have long disagreed over whether embryonic stem cells should be used for scientific research. Parents who used in vitro fertilization to create their families must often decide whether to destroy any unused embryos once their families are complete, donate them to other infertile couples or give them to science. Some couples just avoid the decision altogether and store their embryos indefinitely.
Source: USA Today
In April 2007, the Boston Globe questioned why the moral aspect of stem cell research—debate over whether an unimplanted embryo really was a human being—hadn’t been addressed more thoroughly. “The fact that a moral belief may be rooted in religious conviction neither exempts it from challenge nor puts it beyond the realm of public debate,” the paper argued.
Source: The Boston Globe
Related Topics: Embryonic Stem Cells Created from Skin
In 2007, scientists announced that they had learned how to turn human skin cells into stem cells that had the same characteristics as embryonic stem cells. The developments could ease the contention caused by using actual embryos for research. “It changes everything in that these are not cells derived from embryos anymore,” said stem cell researcher James Thomson.
Source: NPR
The creation of stem cells from skin cells has put new perspective on the ethical and moral debate surrounding stem cells, writes the International Herald Tribune. “The findings have put people on both sides of the divide on nearly equal political footing. Each side can now say it has fruitful research to pursue.”
Source: International Herald Tribune
Reference: Stem cells explained
Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. The two primary types of stem cells are embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. MedlinePlus explains the basics of stem cell research and delves into some of the more controversial matters about stem cell use.
Source: MedlinePlus
NPR provides a timeline of stem cell research, starting when embryonic stem cells were first isolated in mice.
Source: NPR
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