Advantage of Division of Labour
The advantage is that specialised cells perform
specific tasks more effectively than the
unspecialised cells, as the specialised cells
have become specifically modified in order to
perform the specific function.
Answers
Answer:
Stem Cell Therapy’ also known as ‘Regenerative Medicine’ promotes the reparative response of diseased, dysfunctional or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives. It is the next chapter of organ transplantation and uses cells instead of donor organs, which are limited in supply.
Stem Cells are being grown in a lab which is manipulated to specialize into specific types of cells, such as heart muscle cells, blood cells or nerve cells. The specialized cells can then be implanted into a person. For example, if the person has heart disease, the cells could be injected into the heart muscle. The healthy transplanted heart cells could then contribute to repairing defective heart muscle.
This therapy is being used in treating various diseases like Thalassemia, damaged cornea, several burns and Leukemia. It is surprising to know that therapy using stem cells from various sources, including those from bone marrow and umbilical cord, have been successfully used to treat a number of (about 80) life threatening diseases with good results, since 1988.
Over the past few years, with increased research and development activities, a growing number of successful stem cell treatments have emerged. It has become one of the most exciting areas of medicine, encompassing all areas of current medical science.
Possible Advantages of Stem Cell Therapy over other form of treatment:
Self-renewal: stem cells can renew themselves almost indefinitely. This is also known as proliferation. This feature is absent if we transplant organs from one human being to another.
The potential for stem cells to replace damaged cells and tissues is an exciting one for those who will require a transplant during their lifetime. With less number of organ availability for transplant, many people suffer endlessly awaiting a transplant and other will die before they are able to receive one. Diseases that it is expected stem cells will treat one day include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as well as those diseases affecting the retina and heart.
Differentiation: stem cells have the special ability to differentiate into cells with specialised characteristics and functions for example – nerve cell or heart cell.
Unspecialised: stem cells themselves are largely unspecialised cells which then give rise to specialised cells.
In organ transplantation, our body’s defense system white blood corpuscles, which do not allow any foreign organ and outsider organs, are rejected by antibody. In such a situation, stem cell therapy will be very helpful which has the ability to change itself according to the required cell.
One reason that stem cells are important is due to human development from stem cells. As such, an understanding of their unique attributes and control can teach us more about early human development.
Diseases such as cancer are thought to result from abnormal cell proliferation and differentiation. This means that an understanding of where things go ‘wrong’ in stem cell division and thus lead to cancer can help us find ways to prevent the dysfunctional changes or employ effective ways to treat them with targeted drugs.