Stem Cells and Society  Catalyst:  Is it ever acceptable to take a life to help someone? Explain your answer.  Is it acceptable to use parts from a dead body to help someone? Explain your answer. Write in complete sentences! Don’t talk during the Catalyst!

Objectives  By the end of today, SWBAT…  Discuss ethical issues surrounding stem cell research  Evaluate the pros and cons of stem cell research

Agenda  Catalyst  What is a stem cell?  Ethical Issues/Video  New Technology  Future of Stem Cells  Exit Question

What is a stem cell??!??!?  Key Point #1:  Stem cells are cells that have the potential to become any other kind of cell. If we put stem cells in the liver, they will turn into brand new liver cells. If we put stem cells in the heart, they will turn into brand new heart cells. We have even found certain types of stem cells can become brain cells.

Think  If we perfected stem cell research, what are some things that we could use stem cells for?

How could stem cells help humans?  If we can harvest cells that can turn into any type of cell... There are many potential uses:  Cancer:  Alzheimer’s:  Burn victims: we can implant new “good cells” to grow and remove the “bad cells.” a degenerative brain disease. When old people begin to lose memory, new brain cells could be implanted to replace the dying ones. if someone’s skin gets damaged from a bad burn, the dead skin can be replaced with new skin

All this is well and good…  But, what is this whole controversy?  Well, we have been successful getting these cells from aborted fetuses and embryos that would have been used for in-vitro fertilization  In-vitro fertilization— when a sperm and egg are combined under a microscope and the embryo is implanted into a host mother’s uterus.

Who said it?  "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others," _______ said Wednesday afternoon. "It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it."  "These boys and girls are not spare parts," he said of the children in the audience. "They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. They remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells."  George Bush did not allow scientists to gain federal money (money from the U.S. government) to pursue scientific research. George Bush  Federal money supports most research science in the country. (Drug companies fund quite a bit of research as well)

Stem Cell Video  WHOA! A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. WHOA! A LOT TO THINK ABOUT.

(Dis)Agree?  Since aborted fetuses would have been thrown out anyway, it is OK to gather stem cells from human embryos.

(Dis)Agree?  Stem cells research comes from MURDER. It is never OK to take one life to improve another. Stem cell research is fundamentally wrong.

Well… check out what we found…  Key Point #2:  We have isolated stem cells from non-embryonic cells such as bone marrow, fat, and others in ADULTS. Somatic stem cells- stem cells that are harvested from adults  Why would this be such an important discovery for researchers?  Researchers are looking for ways to use these cells just like embryonic stem cells

Does this change the whole debate?  How does this change the stem cell debate?

Another if…  Key Point #3:  Stem cell therapies have worked with moderate success. Scientists still need to work on issues such as: Immune Rejection Turning into the right type of cell Dividing too much (cancerous)

Short Answer Response Practice  Review and Peer Edit  There will be a prompt and you will have 15 minutes to write a response to it.  Your peer is going to grade you on your prompt. We will go over this after the 15 minute interval.

Prompt- three 6 sentence paragraphs  Why are scientists so excited about the invention of stem cells? Describe a disease that could be treated with stem cell therapy.  Why was there such a controversy about embryonic stem cells? Should research be done on embryonic stem cells?  Predict 20 years from now stem cell therapy is the most common way to treat most diseases. Identify at least three things that may occur because of this.  (Example: Some drug companies may go out of business because patients no longer need drugs for these diseases)

Peer Review-10 minutes  On the person’s paper  Circle any comment that is well-defended (explains why the person said what he/she said)  Underline vocabulary that the student used that is higher/advanced  Box anything that urges the readers to think.  Put your grade out of 100 and write one sentence about why you gave them the grade that they deserve. Remember, you must be justified in giving them that grade!

Exit Question  How did the discovery of somatic stem cells change the controversy?