14-02-2012 08:13 STEM CELLS The dance of life Recent developments in regenerative medicine and modern biology are going to have an enormous impact on our lives. Also the way itself we face the problem of sickness, aging and death changes as the hope (or the illusion?) grows that we always can fight and delay them. Stem cell research is in fact changing our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of life and feeding the idea that we can increasingly contrast the cruel natural selection rules which make us fall ill, grow old and die. A new frontier opens and unpredictable changes in our culture are taking place. People’s hopes and fears grow at the same time. The general properties of the stem cells is presented, namely the ability to proliferate and, under certain conditions, to differentiate in other types of cells. In this way they can generate a new tissue replacing a damaged one, and also a new organ (like blood, thrachea, liver, heart, skin, cornea and very recently retina). A stamp is shown, which was emitted by the Japanese government to celebrate the discovery of a university team, which was able to regenerate a cornea and giving the opportunity to a patient to see again. Then the innovative results is presented in applications of the stem cells to orthopedy, muscular dystrophy, cardiology and dentistry. Finally the etherogeneus perspectives is presented offered by stem cell research to treat degenerative disorders, like Alzheimer, Parkinson diseases and Multiple Sclerosis. www …

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