Another interesting and possibly the most beneficial potential of stem cells is that stem cells can help someone with paralysis walk again. There have been tests done on rats and the rats have been able to walk again after stem cells were made into new neural cells. This is amazing and will give many paralyzed individuals a chance to live again and do things that they otherwise never have been able to do.

These are interesting polls that I found on Gallup polls. One measures by political party, the acceptance of embryonic stem cells which for each party was over 50%.  The other shows individuals personal point of views of stem cells. Again there is an overwhelming amount of support for stem cells. This shows that because of the great promise of stem cells the acceptance has improved.

Link to Poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/23827/stem-cell-veto-contrary-public-opinion.aspx

      In finding support articles for stem cells the website Nature and Science were very helpful. If you are interested in stem cells or even science in general I would check these two websites out!

Links: http://www.sciencemag.org/
          http://www.nature.com/

Human Liver

        One of the largest advantages besides the clear advantage of undifferentiated cells but hES cells also have the advantage of less rejection by the human body after implantation. This is a large problem when adult stem cells are implanted in your body. However, you can take your own cells from your bone marrow and put them into your body but this is unfortunately not always an option.

       One avenue of research that I have not looked into much is the claim that hES cells can cure blindness. This interests me because I have very bad vision and have been interested in alternative ways of improving vision. A study done in 2012 using hES cells improved two blind woman's vision exponentially even in lower doses. This is not the only reason why this study is so important.The study is also important because this is the first time when hES cells were successfully implanted in a human. This holds great promise for the future by not only helping repair vision but research using hES cells in general. 

              On March 9, 2009 former President Bush's policy on stem cells was repealed by President Obama. He then put in place a policy that benefits scientists that do stem cell research and that he will open up more federal funding to new embryonic stem cell lines. When I first found this out I was ecstatic because it gives scientists more funding and more availability of stem cells. This will progress research much farther than it would have if the funding was still restricted and may lead to a cure of a major disease, plaguing millions.

         
               This is a picture of 2 brains, one normal and one with Parkinson's. This image shows that in the brain with Parkinson's there is much less activity because less dopamine is being made. Human embryonic stem cells have been shown to improve dopamine production by adding new neurons into the brain. This would stop and even reverse the effects of Parkinson's.

     

         This diagram is very interesting and shows the multiple types of stem cells and when they can be harvested. It is a great diagram with a lot of information.

        

                     1.2 million individuals suffer from heart attacks each year and many of these are fatal and unfortunately those who survive will have scar tissue. Scar tissue does not pump blood as efficiently which leads to an  increased risk of having another heart attack. A heart attack sufferer does not have to be plagued for the rest of their lives. A study conducted at Cedar- Sinai showed that scar tissue in humans shrank between 30-47% using stem cells. This study amazed me because heart attacks are so common and if the heart efficiency can be improved this will lower the risk of another heart attack.                                                                                             

 Link to the study: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/14/health/stem-cells-heart-damage-reverse/index.html

    

           

               

This link contains information about the difference between adult and embryonic stem cells. It also has other great information such as potential of the cells and an informational section about stem cells in general.

 http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics5.asp

         This is an interesting video if you are not familiar with embryonic stem cells and how they come about. There is a 30 second clip and there is also an 8 minute video that will widely broaden your knowledge stem cells in general and will challenge you because it is a bit more difficult to understand.

Other video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcE1Y_bOQE

                     Suzanne Holland, Laurie Zoloth, and Karen Lebacqz edited the book The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. The novel contains several articles, some written by the editors and some by others, on the topics of stem cells. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in stem cells not so much on the scientific side but on the views of others on the topic of stem cells. This book offers views from a feminist, someone of Jewish faith, someone of the Roman Catholic faith, someone of the Secular faith and someone of the Christian faith. Overall the book was a great read and provided me with a great deal of knowledge related to many views on stem cells.