New Side of Stem Cells
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/9369/title/Faulty_Fountains_of_Youth
Summary:
Adult stem cells were once believed to only be contained in tissues that need to rejuvenate often such as blood and skin. But recent new studies have found that stem cells are located is nearly every single tissue and organ in the adult body.
This seems to explain some of the mysteries of aging. As a person ages most of the stem cells begin to diminish causing weaker bones and immune systems and gray hair.One group began a study in which they surgically joined one old mouse and one young mouse. It is known that the cells that rejuvenate muscles grow weak with age. The question was whether or not this effect was irreversible. The blood of the young mouse did restore the tissue of the older mouse showing that the effect on the muscle stem cells is environmental.
This leads to the belief that the stem cells do not age but the bodies' internal environment does. However, other studies done by transplanting blood between mice from different generations shows the opposite. Despite the surrounding of the blood, old blood which doesn't weaken but seems to malfunction continues on the malfunctioning path. That malfunction is the limit in production of immune boosting blood cells which leads to weak immune systems.
Another link being studied with respect to stem cells is cancer. Cancer arises from malfunctions resulting from a cell dividing. The job of stem cells is to divide to replenish depletion. This could be a cause of cancer. The damage of stem cells seems to be linked to a higher level of anticancer genes.
Stem cells play a larger role than any scientist would have imagined fifty years ago. Who knows what advances have yet to be made towards the many things linked to stem cells.
Response:
I found this article interesting because it reminds me of how intricate the body God created is. Our bodies are so intricate and specialized that the idea of random chance is crazy. So many things are linked in ways we are just now finding: who knows how complex our bodies actually are. The fact that we only use a little percentage of our brains is proof enough of overwhelming complexity. All these links just reinforce it. I also think that at the beginning of the article when it talks about not knowing the reason for aging, it again proves Christianity because it answers a question science can't.
1 Comments:
I know this has very little to do with the article, but one question
popped into my mind: what does this say about abortion? I know one of
the major arguments for abortion is that the stem cells found in
fetuses are invaluable. But if adults are producing stem cells as
well, aren't those just as good? I know there are differences
involved, but it just makes me wonder what the differences between a
fetal stem cell and an adult stem cell is, what we have to learn from
either/both of them, and if it is possible to substitute one for the
other, as far as research goes. And I couldn't agree more: God is
amazing. Science doesn't disprove Christianity; far from it! Science
only helps shine more light on the glory of God
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