What are stem cells, and why might a person with damage to the brain or spinal cord be very interested in the advancement of this field? What are some of the ethical issues related to stem cell research?

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Nguyen

Biology

4 April, 02:28

What are stem cells, and why might a person with damage to the brain or spinal cord be very interested in the advancement of this field? What are some of the ethical issues related to stem cell research?

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Marlee Christensen · Answer 1

Stem cells: Undifferntiated cells with the ability to differentiate (another word for develop/change) into other cells with specialized purposes such as nerve cells.

Someone with neurological damage could benefit as they have received nerve damage; if stem cells could differentiate into nerve cells that could be transplanted into that someone without their body rejecting it, the neurological damage could be reduced.

One ethical implication is that stem cells could be harvested from zygotes.