Two Cells That Beat As One | A reporter gets awed at stem cell boot camp
Knowing something intellectually and seeing it with your own two eyes are two very different things.
That was the case for me recently when I accepted an invitation along with about 25 science and newspaper writers for a day of “stem cell school” at UMass Medical School’s Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine in Shrewsbury.
After hearing a lot of information about stem cells and the science behind it, we got to see the real thing.
I was literally stopped in my tracks upon seeing specialized cardiac stem cells enlarged through the microscopes beating in tandem like mini hearts.
I think I can even use that now hackneyed word awesome, because awe was what I felt. Just imagine once the research is perfected what a wonderful thing it will be to repair hearts with cardiac stem cells in place of invasive surgeries like cardiac bypass.
We’re likely a very long way from seeing those cells used therapeutically, but some day, whether it’s 15 years or 50 years from now, scientists will find a way to repair our bodies when they are suffering from disease.
I think it’s extraordinary that there are elemental building blocks that have promise in solving so many diseases that plague the human race.
And I think it should awe all of us that those answers may initially lie right here in Worcester. We’ve gone from manufacturing innovative products to hopefully manufacturing innovative cures.
Anyone who watched a loved one suffer from a chronic or debilitating disease can easily imagine how wonderful those cures will be if and when they’re available.
But at the same time, seeing those cells beat in tandem also made me think of the incredible responsibilities the scientists conducting the research have — and we as a people have — as answers involving the growth of stem cells are developed.
As the research and responsibilities grow, the UMass Stem Cell Center has the right idea: offer not just published studies for researchers, but basic information for the rest of us. The school’s new International Stem Cell Registry has a web site (www.umassmed.edu/iscr) and it includes that basic information and links to more information from other sources.
So hunker down in front of your computer and home school yourself on Worcester’s latest industry.
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