I first found this article in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald. I thought that interesting because it's about discoveries in the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School located in Boston.... go figure.
The big news this morning is Researchers have found a single stem cell (in furry little experimental animals of course) that can morph into heart muscle cells or smooth muscle cells or blood vessel cells. They were surprised about this as they apparently thought that different types of cells migrated in the developing fetus in order to form the heart.
Personally I was under the impression that most organs, vessels, muscles... all that innards stuff originated from a single cell. Isn't that what happens when the sperm and egg join in holy matrimony? From this "union" isn't it a single cell that divides into 2 cells then 4 cells then 8 and so on? All this division and multiplication and other higher math functions finally produce a cute little baby.... be it a mouse, whale or human. Well, at least that's what Jimmy Apple told me when I was 8 years old.
So what's the big deal here? First, think of all the mouses in the world with heart disease that can be saved by injecting stem cells (with the proper credentials) into their damaged hearts. The stem cells will grow and replace the damaged cells and the mouses will live happily ever after. As far as humans are concerned, the researchers said, this [discovery] could move scientists nearer to being able to use stem-cell therapies to regenerate tissues to repair congenital heart defects in children and damage caused by heart attacks in adults.
The big news this morning is Researchers have found a single stem cell (in furry little experimental animals of course) that can morph into heart muscle cells or smooth muscle cells or blood vessel cells. They were surprised about this as they apparently thought that different types of cells migrated in the developing fetus in order to form the heart.
Personally I was under the impression that most organs, vessels, muscles... all that innards stuff originated from a single cell. Isn't that what happens when the sperm and egg join in holy matrimony? From this "union" isn't it a single cell that divides into 2 cells then 4 cells then 8 and so on? All this division and multiplication and other higher math functions finally produce a cute little baby.... be it a mouse, whale or human. Well, at least that's what Jimmy Apple told me when I was 8 years old.
So what's the big deal here? First, think of all the mouses in the world with heart disease that can be saved by injecting stem cells (with the proper credentials) into their damaged hearts. The stem cells will grow and replace the damaged cells and the mouses will live happily ever after. As far as humans are concerned, the researchers said, this [discovery] could move scientists nearer to being able to use stem-cell therapies to regenerate tissues to repair congenital heart defects in children and damage caused by heart attacks in adults.
BUT they stressed they were not yet anywhere close to that goal.
So we close once again waiting for these amazing discoveries found in the furry little experimental animals to apply to us-n's of the human persuasion.
Thank you little mouses for your continuing contribution.....
So we close once again waiting for these amazing discoveries found in the furry little experimental animals to apply to us-n's of the human persuasion.
Thank you little mouses for your continuing contribution.....
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