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Many scientists think that fetal tissue transplants offer great potential for treating
Chapter 47, Problem 11(choose chapter or problem)
Many scientists think that fetal tissue transplants offer great potential for treating Parkinsons disease, epilepsy, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, and spinal cord injuries. Why might tissues from a fetus be particularly useful for replacing diseased or damaged cells in patients with such conditions? Some people would allow only tissues from miscarriages to be used in fetal transplant research. However, most researchers prefer to use tissues from surgically aborted fetuses. Why? Explain your position on this controversial issue.
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
Many scientists think that fetal tissue transplants offer great potential for treating Parkinsons disease, epilepsy, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, and spinal cord injuries. Why might tissues from a fetus be particularly useful for replacing diseased or damaged cells in patients with such conditions? Some people would allow only tissues from miscarriages to be used in fetal transplant research. However, most researchers prefer to use tissues from surgically aborted fetuses. Why? Explain your position on this controversial issue.
ANSWER:Fetal tissue transplants offer potential for treating many diseases because fetal cells are in a particularly young, undifferentiated state, meaning they are not yet specialized for any particular role in the body, and so can divide and take on the functionality of any particular cell type. This makes them especially well adapted for replacing malfunctioning or damaged cells in the brains, hearts, and other body parts of patients with degenerative diseases.
The use of fetal tissue from aborted f