The report is due tomorrow.
The report is due by tomorrow. ada mesenchymal stem cells were found in menstrual fluid and they had the same plasticity as the ones harvested from other adult sources so not only did this discovery open up a new way to get stem cells without the ethical baggage or invasive procedures it also opened up an entirely new population of potential stem cell donors this is huge because it means that now half of the population has the potential to donate stem cells for research and treatments
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Stem cell research has led to some amazing discoveries and has the potential to treat or even cure some of our deadliest diseases, from diabetes to Alzheimer’s. But let’s face it, where researchers get those stem cells is controversial. Many of the stem cells we use come from embryos, which means the ethics of the practice are hotly debated, and the cells are in limited supply.
So what if we had a more plentiful and less contentious source? Turns out, there’s an unexpected place where stem cells are abundant: period blood. Meaning that, statistically, half of you watching this video make the future of medicine every month.
So let’s talk about stem cells. What are they and why do they matter so much? Stem cells are the most flexible kind of cells in your body, and as they reproduce, they can differentiate into specific and different kinds of tissues. They’re kind of like an Eevee, they’ll turn into something different based on the environment they’re subjected to, but instead of a fire stone, the stem cells get like a liver cell stone or something.
These little cells are all the buzz in the world of regenerative medicine, the field focused on healing or replacing tissues that have been damaged by trauma, disease, congenital abnormalities, or even just aging. Basically, regenerative medicine is the stuff we do to try to help a body heal its own tissues, and for a while, the most promising thing we’ve been able to throw at this problem has been stem cells.
So the hope of stem cell therapies is that you can take your stem cells and turn them into, say, neurons, and then put those healthy cells into someone whose neurons are diseased. Theoretically, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) offer the most potential. They’re so great because of their extreme plasticity, they’re able to become any tissue or organ in the body, which makes sense since embryos need to go on to differentiate until all those bits as they grow.
In practice, however, embryonic stem cells have had limited use because of two major problems. First, the ethics of destroying an embryo, even in the name of life-saving research, are still hotly debated. Second, fresh embryonic stem cells are just hard to come by; most are left over from in vitro fertilization, which means that, of the very small pool of IVF embryos to harvest from, science only gets the extras.
With this dubious future for embryonic stem cells, the hunt for cells with similar plasticity, more renewable sourcing, and better publicity began. Enter mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs): cells that are harvested from adults, and thus avoid the ethical dilemmas and bad PR of the embryonic ones.
When it comes to plasticity, not all stem cells are created equal. Embryonic stem cells are valued because they are pluripotent, meaning they can turn into any adult cells, no matter what part or layer of the body that tissue comes from, but not all stem cells are like this. There are some that can only turn into a few kinds of cells, and those less adaptable stem cells just don’t have as many potential applications.
Mesenchymal stem cells aren’t pluripotent, but they’re pretty darn close. They can become bone, muscle, blood vessels, and connective tissue cells, and even liver cells, which is kind of a huge deal. But while mesenchymal stem cells are ethically less complicated and demonstrate similar plasticity to embryonic stem cells, they’re not exactly easy to get into your petri dish. You mostly get them through invasive procedures like bone marrow donation, liposuction, or apheresis, which is blood filtering.
Or, at least, that was the case until a new source of mesenchymal stem cells was discovered: menstrual fluid. Scientists had a hunch that the uterus might be utilizing stem cells for its monthly redecorating, so in 2007, they collected menstrual fluid, isolated the cells, and got to work testing. Tada! Mesenchymal stem cells were found in menstrual fluid, and they had the same plasticity as the ones harvested from other adult sources.
So