What are stem cells? - Craig A. Kohn
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0:07 - 0:10Imagine two people are listening to music.
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0:10 - 0:11What are the odds
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0:11 - 0:11that they are listening
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0:11 - 0:13to the exact same playlist?
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0:13 - 0:15Probably pretty low.
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0:15 - 0:18After all, everyone has very different tastes in music.
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0:18 - 0:20Now, what are the odds
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0:20 - 0:21that your body will need
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0:21 - 0:23the exact same medical care and treatment
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0:23 - 0:25as another person's body?
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0:25 - 0:26Even lower.
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0:26 - 0:28As we go through our lives,
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0:28 - 0:30each of us will have very different needs
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0:30 - 0:32for our own healthcare.
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0:32 - 0:34Scientists and doctors are constantly researching ways
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0:34 - 0:37to make medicine more personalized.
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0:38 - 0:39One way they are doing this
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0:39 - 0:42is by researching stem cells.
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0:42 - 0:45Stem cells are cells that are undifferentiated,
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0:45 - 0:49meaning they do not have a specific job or function.
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0:49 - 0:51While skin cells protect your body,
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0:51 - 0:52muscle cells contract,
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0:52 - 0:54and nerve cells send signals,
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0:54 - 0:59stem cells do not have any specific structures or functions.
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0:59 - 1:01Stem cells do have the potential
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1:01 - 1:04to become all other kinds of cells in your body.
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1:04 - 1:06Your body uses stem cells
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1:06 - 1:09to replace worn-out cells when they die.
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1:09 - 1:11For example, you completely replace
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1:11 - 1:15the lining of your intestines every four days.
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1:15 - 1:17Stem cells beneath the lining of your intestines
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1:17 - 1:20replace these cells as they wear out.
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1:20 - 1:23Scientists hope that stem cells could be used
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1:23 - 1:27to create a very special kind of personalized medicine
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1:27 - 1:30in which we could replace your own body parts with,
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1:30 - 1:32well, your own body parts.
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1:32 - 1:35Stem cell researchers are working hard
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1:35 - 1:37to find ways in which to use stem cells
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1:37 - 1:38to create new tissue
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1:38 - 1:40to replace the parts of organs
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1:40 - 1:43that are damaged by injury or disease.
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1:43 - 1:46Using stem cells to replace damaged bodily tissue
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1:46 - 1:49is called regenerative medicine.
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1:49 - 1:52For example, scientists currently use stem cells
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1:52 - 1:54to treat patients with blood diseases
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1:54 - 1:56such as leukemia.
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1:56 - 1:58Leukemia is a form of cancer
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1:58 - 2:00that affects your bone marrow.
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2:00 - 2:03Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside your bones
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2:03 - 2:05where your blood cells are created.
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2:05 - 2:09In leukemia, some of the cells inside your bone marrow
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2:09 - 2:13grow uncontrollably, crowding out the healthy stem cells
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2:13 - 2:15that form your blood cells.
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2:15 - 2:17Some leukemia patients can receive
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2:17 - 2:19a stem cell transplant.
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2:19 - 2:21These new stem cells will create
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2:21 - 2:24the blood cells needed by the patient's body.
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2:24 - 2:26There are actually multiple kinds
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2:26 - 2:27of stem cells that scientists can use
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2:27 - 2:30for medical treatments and research.
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2:30 - 2:33Adult stem cells or tissue-specific stem cells
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2:33 - 2:35are found in small numbers
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2:35 - 2:37in most of your body's tissues.
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2:37 - 2:39Tissue-specific stem cells replace
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2:39 - 2:41the existing cells in your organs
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2:41 - 2:43as they wear out and die.
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2:43 - 2:46Embryonic stem cells are created
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2:46 - 2:49from leftover embryos that are willingly donated
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2:49 - 2:51by patients from fertility clinics.
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2:51 - 2:54Unlike tissue-specific stem cells,
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2:54 - 2:57embryonic stem cells are pluripotent.
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2:57 - 2:59This means that they can be grown
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2:59 - 3:01into any kind of tissue in the body.
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3:02 - 3:04A third kind of stem cells
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3:04 - 3:07is called induced pluripotent stem cells.
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3:07 - 3:11These are regular skin, fat, liver, or other cells
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3:11 - 3:12that scientists have changed
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3:12 - 3:15to behave like embryonic stem cells.
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3:15 - 3:17Like embryonic stem cells,
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3:17 - 3:20they, too, can become any kind of cell in the body.
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3:20 - 3:22While scientists and doctors hope to use
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3:22 - 3:24all of these kinds of stem cells
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3:24 - 3:27to create new tissue to heal your body,
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3:27 - 3:29they can also use stem cells
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3:29 - 3:32to help understand how the body works.
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3:32 - 3:35Scientists can watch stem cells develop
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3:35 - 3:37into tissue to understand the mechnanisms
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3:37 - 3:40that the body uses to create new tissue
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3:40 - 3:43in a controlled and regulated way.
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3:43 - 3:45Scientists hope that with more research,
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3:45 - 3:47they can not only develop specialized medicine
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3:47 - 3:49that is specific to your body
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3:49 - 3:51but also better understand
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3:51 - 3:52how your body functions,
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3:52 - 3:54both when it's healthy
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3:54 - 3:55and when it's not.
- Title:
- What are stem cells? - Craig A. Kohn
- Speaker:
- Craig A. Kohn
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-are-stem-cells-craig-a-kohn
Is personalized medicine for individual bodies in our future? Possibly -- with the use of stem cells, undifferentiated cells with the power to become any tissue in our bodies. Craig A. Kohn describes the role of these incredible, transforming cells and how scientists are harnessing their medical potential.
Lesson by Craig A. Kohn, animation by Qa'ed Mai.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:11
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