Medicine has evolved to the point where it has discovered a special class of undifferentiated cells, able to differentiate into specialized cell types. Stem cells come from two sources: embryos and adult tissue. Stem cells are highly efficient in treatments for diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, spinal cord injury repair, baldness reversal and the list can go on with Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury repair. They hold the property of self-renewal, stem cells never degrade but rather rise from their own ashes to make our bodies work at full potential. They have the ability to go through various cycles of cell division while keeping their undifferentiated state. Also, they have the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types.
The only downside when it comes to Stem cells is that they are not as available and as widely spread as we would need them to, in order to make a difference and improve health management all over the world. However, according to a new study, stem cells factories will soon become a reality, offering better chances for individuals all across the globe.
A team of scientists at the University of Nottingham has discovered the first entirely synthetic substrate with potential to grow not millions but billions of stem cells. The research could open an important pathway for the development of entire “stem cells factories”, namely the mass production of human embryonic stem cells.
This discovery could be translated into a massive breakthrough in medicine, as the ability to culture billions of stem cells on a quick and easy base could lead to amazing advances in restorative medication for a great variety of injuries and health conditions.
The highly revolutionary material developed by researchers, based on a $3, 68 million investment, is free of both contamination and variability. The entire process envisioned shows the perspective of being scalable, thus allowing for the rapid development of affordable stem cell-based treatments. The technology, if approved, could rise in maximum three years and help in treatments for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and many more.
1981 was the year that allowed for a revolutionary discovery. Scientists have unveiled pathways to derive embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos, which further led to the following discovery of a method to derive stem structures from human embryos and grow them in the lab. Now the story goes further with a synthetic method which may prove to be efficient in the endeavor to grow and derive more consistent amounts of stem cells, to the benefit of individuals undergoing healing treatments for various and some yet untreatable diseases. Let’s keep calm and hope that stem cells factories will soon become a reality.
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