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Degenerative diseases and loss of
senses such as blindness and deafness are serious illnesses and disabilities
mainly because they cannot be cured by any drug so far discovered. When stem
cell research started in the recent years, we all thought that we can finally
put an end to the lack of cure to these diseases. However, stem cell research
brought up more questions than it answered. A lot of issues accompany the
revolutionary breakthrough due to the involvement of human fetus and/or
animals. Aside from this, stem cell transplants are rarely successful due to
the adverse effects of xenogeneic tissue grafts or cell cultures. In a research
in the University of Surrey, scientists found a way to eliminate the effects of
rejection by the recipient of the stem cells that are cultured on human or
animal tissues. Instead of cultivating the cells on animals/humans, they have
developed a scaffold of carbon nanotubes upon which human stem cells can be
grown into a variety of tissues. This nanotubes mimics the surface of the
body’s natural support cells and act as scaffolding for stem cells to grow.
These nanotubes took its glory from its use in cancer research and diagnosis,
but it was the first time that it was used in a stem cell research. Scientists
say that if studied further and found effective, stem cells grown on nanotubes
can be used for cheaper transplant treatments and could potentially allow the
production of whole human organs without the need for donors. Also, since they
are xenogeneic, they can be used on anyone without the individual’s immune
system attacking the new cells or tissues.
Although
the controversy on using embryonic stem cells cannot be completely eradicated
by this new discovery, opportunities especially for people whose diseases had
been deemed incurable can once again see their life with a new light of hope.
Personally, I think that such discoveries should not go to waste, and efforts
of the intellectual community not go futile just because of ethical issues. Not
eliminating the fact that such issues are sensitive for us, humans, I believe
that science is finding its own way to penetrate the minds of everyone to
comprehend and consider treatments that may be, for now, are invasive to the
human’s natural tendency to sympathy.
References:
University
of Surrey. "New stem cell research removes reliance on human and animal
cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 February 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140205210411.htm>.
Eric
W. Brunner, Izabela Jurewicz, Elena Heister, Azin Fahimi, Chiara Bo, Richard P.
Sear, Peter J Donovan, Alan B. Dalton. Growth and Proliferation of Human
Embryonic Stem Cells on Fully Synthetic Scaffolds Based on Carbon Nanotubes.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2014; 140123104241006 DOI:
10.1021/am405097w
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