Assignment#01:

Cell:
Cell is defined as the smallest, basic unit of life that is responsible for all
of life’s processes. The study of cells from its basic structure to the
functions of every cell organelle is called Cell Biology. Robert Hooke
was the first Biologist who discovered cells. All organisms are made up
of cells. They may be made up of a single cell (unicellular), or many cells
(multicellular).  Mycoplasmas are the smallest known cells. Cells are the
building blocks of all living beings. They provide structure to the body
and convert the nutrients taken from the food into energy.

Types of Cells
Cells are similar to factories with different labourers and departments
that work towards a common objective. Various types of cells perform
different functions. Based on cellular structure, there are two types of
cells:

 Prokaryotes
 Eukaryotes

Prokaryotic Cells:
Prokaryotic cells are single-celled microorganisms known to be the
earliest on earth. Prokaryotes include Bacteria and Archaea. The
photosynthetic prokaryotes include cyanobacteria that perform
photosynthesis.
Eukaryotic Cells:
Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus enclosed within the nuclear membrane
and form large and complex organisms. Protozoa, fungi, plants, and
animals all have eukaryotic cells. They are classified under the kingdom
Eukaryota.
Red Blood Corpuscles (RBCs):
Red blood cells, also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles,
haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes, are the most common type
of blood cell and the vertebrate's principal means of delivering oxygen
to the body tissues—via blood flow through the circulatory system.
The cytoplasm of a red blood cell is rich in hemoglobin, an iron-
containing bimolecular that can bind oxygen and is responsible for the
red color of the cells and the blood. Each human red blood cell contains
approximately 270 million hemoglobin molecules.
In humans, mature red blood cells are flexible biconcave disks. They
lack a cell nucleus and organelles, to accommodate maximum space for
hemoglobin; they can be viewed as sacks of hemoglobin, with a plasma
membrane as the sack.
White Blood Corpuscles (WBCs):
The full form of WBC is White Blood Cell. The WBC is also labelled as
Leukocytes. They serve as a defence against all pathogens in the human
body. WBC creates a different sort of protein called antibodies that
recognise and counter the foreign agents like fungi, viruses and bacteria
that infect the human body.
The WBC in the cells comprises recognisable granule-like structures.
Thus their name is Granulocytes, and they do not contain
agranulocytes. WBCs account for 1 per cent of the total quantity of
blood, and they are colourless, since these lack haemoglobin .
Platelets
These are tiny fragments of blood cells that facilitate the formation of clots in our
bodies to stop bleeding. Platelets help repair the damage and rush towards blood
vessels whenever there is any damage in them. The activated platelets stick
together to form a platelet plug which in turn activates the coagulation factor.
Vitamin K is beneficial for the proper functioning of the coagulation factor.
 Stem Cells:
Stem cells are special human cells that can develop into many different
types of cells, from muscle cells to brain cells. Stem cells are the body's
raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized
functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or a
laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells.
These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells
(differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain
cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells. No other cell in the body has the
natural ability to generate new cell types.
Research on stem cells is going on, and it is believed that stem cell
therapies can cure ailments like paralysis and Alzheimer’s as well. Let us
have a detailed look at stem cells, their types and their functions.

Types of Stem cells

Stem cells are of the following different types:

 Embryonic Stem Cells

 Adult Stem Cells
 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
 Mesenchymal stem cells
Embryonic Stem Cells
The fertilized egg begins to divide immediately. All the cells in the young embryo
are totipotent cells. 
Adult Stem Cells
These stem cells are obtained from developed organs and tissues. 
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
These cells have been tested and arranged by converting tissue-specific cells into
embryonic cells in the lab.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells
These cells are mainly formed from the connective tissues surrounding other
tissues and organs, known as the stroma.
 Research Article:

Abstract
In recent years, stem cell therapy has become a very promising and
advanced scientific research topic. The development of treatment
methods has evoked great expectations. This paper is a review focused
on the discovery of different stem cells and the potential therapies
based on these cells. The genesis of stem cells is followed by laboratory
steps of controlled stem cell culturing and derivation. Quality control
and teratoma formation assays are important procedures in assessing
the properties of the stem cells tested. Derivation methods and the
utilization of culturing media are crucial to set proper environmental
conditions for controlled differentiation. Among many types of stem
tissue applications, the use of graphene scaffolds and the potential of
extracellular vesicle-based therapies require attention due to their
versatility. The review is summarized by challenges that stem cell
therapy must overcome to be accepted worldwide. A wide variety of
possibilities makes this cutting edge therapy a turning point in modern
medicine, providing hope for untreatable diseases.
Stem cell classification
Stem cells are unspecialized cells of the human body. They are able to
differentiate into any cell of an organism and have the ability of self-
renewal. Stem cells exist both in embryos and adult cells. There are
several steps of specialization. Developmental potency is reduced with
each step, which means that a unipotent stem cell is not able to
differentiate into as many types of cells as a pluripotent one.
Totipotent stem cells are able to divide and differentiate into cells of
the whole organism. Totipotency has the highest differentiation
potential and allows cells to form both embryo and extra-embryonic
structures. One example of a totipotent cell is a zygote, which is formed
after a sperm fertilizes an egg. These cells can later develop either into
any of the three germ layers or form a placenta. After approximately
4 days, the blastocyst’s inner cell mass becomes pluripotent. This
structure is the source of pluripotent cells.
Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) form cells of all germ layers but not
extraembryonic structures, such as the placenta. Embryonic stem cells
(ESCs) are an example. ESCs are derived from the inner cell mass of
preimplantation embryos. Another example is induced pluripotent
stem cells (iPSCs) derived from the epiblast layer of implanted embryos.
Their pluripotency is a continuum, starting from completely pluripotent
cells such as ESCs and iPSCs and ending on representatives with less
potency—multi-, oligo- or unipotent cells. One of the methods to assess
their activity and spectrum is the teratoma formation assay. iPSCs are
artificially generated from somatic cells, and they function similarly to
PSCs. Their culturing and utilization are very promising for present and
future regenerative medicine.
Multipotent stem cells have a narrower spectrum of differentiation
than PSCs, but they can specialize in discrete cells of specific cell
lineages. One example is a haematopoietic stem cell, which can develop
into several types of blood cells. After differentiation, a haematopoietic
stem cell becomes an oligopotent cell. Its differentiation abilities are
then restricted to cells of its lineage. However, some multipotent cells
are capable of conversion into unrelated cell types, which suggests
naming them pluripotent cells.
Oligopotent stem cells can differentiate into several cell types. A
myeloid stem cell is an example that can divide into white blood cells
but not red blood cells.
Unipotent stem cells are characterized by the narrowest differentiation
capabilities and a special property of dividing repeatedly. Their latter
feature makes them a promising candidate for therapeutic use in
regenerative medicine. These cells are only able to form one cell type,
e.g. dermatocytes.
STEM CELL RESEARCH AND HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICE

Health educators are charged with numerous roles and responsibilities

in the public sector.1 These essential tasks intersect with current and
anticipated research involving stem cells. What follows is an iteration of
ways in which health educators might be expected to address relevant
stem cell knowledge and research issues. Although not exhaustive, the
points below highlight the importance of keeping public dialogue about
this topic both vibrant and accurate.

Assessing Individual and Community Needs

Health education competencies and subcompetencies in this area include, but are
not limited to, selecting valid sources of information about health needs and
interests. The debate over stem cell research inevitably becomes enmeshed in
moral arguments and political posturing, so it is important that scientifically
accurate information and data be made prominent in the public eye. Health
educators are positioned to translate technical information and make it accessible
to the lay public and other interested consumers. Presently, although there are
many avenues of availability for this information in the scientific and medical
communities, it is far less available to the general public. What is needed are
accurate sources of relevant stem cell data and other information that neither
refute scientific discovery nor escalate optimism inappropriately or prematurely.

Planning, Implementing, and Administering Strategies and

Programs

The highly diverse nature of the health information consumer includes different
levels of health literacy, disparate ethical and moral belief systems, and widely
varying learning styles. Health educators are professionally prepared as a group to
respond to the needs of these different audiences by identifying individuals and
groups who can best benefit from knowledge about stem cell research,
incorporating appropriate organizational frameworks, establishing specific
learning objectives based on assessment of baseline knowledge, assigning
audience-specific modes of education delivery, and developing a program delivery
method that includes optimal use of learning technologies.

Health educators are able to assess both knowledge and attitude shifts through
the use of well chosen surveys and other assessment instruments. Moreover,
health educators can infer needed future activities and programs that build either
in a linear or a spiraling fashion on past activities. Stem cell research is a
pioneering endeavor, and the knowledge shifts can, therefore, be rapid; the need
for recurring data and information sources suitable for general and specific
audience consumption is as dynamic as the shifting sands. Health educators are
prime candidates for interpreting these changes, putting them in context, and
making the necessary and relevant adjustments to the public’s informational
needs.
Serving as an Education Resource Person

Health educators should be masters at retrieval of information that can be

translated from technical to more audience-friendly language. As with their other
resource functions, health educators should be able to match information needs
with the appropriate retrieval systems; to select data and data systems
commensurate with program needs; and to determine the relevance of various
computerized health information resources, access those resources, and employ
electronic technology for retrieving references. To enhance the match between
information and audience, health educators should be positioned to perform
readability assessments using such tools as the SMOG Test, the Flesch Reading
Ease Formula and other indices, thereby increasing the likelihood that relevant
information about stem cells will be understood.

Advocating for Education about Stem Cell Research

Health educators are expected to analyze and respond to current and future
needs in health education. Particularly pertinent to stem cell research is the
analysis of factors (e.g., social, demographic, political) that influence individuals
who make decisions about the direction of, and restrictions on, stem cell
research. Currently, the wise course may be for health educators to be as
politically neutral as possible in organizing and communicating information about
stem cell research—standing neither for nor against liberalization of current
research postures by the federal government and other entities. Health
educators, like any other professional group, are subject to their own biases,
including those emanating from personal moral philosophy, ethical principles, or
other convictions. Nevertheless, they are obligated to report on stem cell matters
factually. They can also serve as advocates for promoting discussions in the public
sector, at professional conferences, and in their own scientific literature. Finally,
practice standards support health educators’ participation in continuing
education on stem cell issues and their development of plans for ongoing
professional development.

CONCLUSION
Stem cell research is a major area in biomedical research, one that could have a
far-reaching impact on the overall health of the human race. Many people,
professional and lay alike, obtain their knowledge from sources that present
personal agendas or dubious interpretations of facts. In this article, we have
endeavored to give a fair, balanced, and unbiased view—as much as our personal
limits as scientists and individuals permit—of the potential of stem cells. We have
also argued that health educators can position themselves to bring some
orderliness to the debate about the merits of stem cell research and support a
healthy dialogue among lay audiences as well as their own professional peers.