• Question: Are there other uses of stem cells beside using them to treat disease?

    Asked by blahla to Anzy, Aoife, Dave, Matt, Tomasz on 14 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: David Christensen

      David Christensen answered on 14 Nov 2013:

      Yes there are blahla. Some scientists make stem cells from people who have a disease so that they can try to learn more about that disease in the lab.

      Other scientists use stem cells to try to learn more about the way our bodies develop from embryos.

      In my work, I am trying to learn more about stem cells and the nutrients like sugar that they use. My work might help lead to disease treatments, but I am not actually working on a disease cure.

    • Photo: Matthew Tomlinson

      Matthew Tomlinson answered on 14 Nov 2013:

      I think the majority of scientists working with stem cells do so to help cure diseases. There are a lot scientists who use them to understand how cells in the body work , how certain genes work and as David says to help understand human development. But it is mostly to understand how a disease works and finding out ways to either cure or prevent it.

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