By Suneel Kailley Biotechnology Solution Fluency z z

By Suneel Kailley Biotechnology Solution Fluency z

z Define For my Biotechnology and Ethics assignment, I chose the dilemma: Can we use the stem cells of humans who have conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome and other very serious genetic disorders as therapy to remove the disorder? I was interested in this dilemma because I was interested in how more serious disorders or conditions could be cured. I also interested in how scientists might know how these conditions start and what goes wrong. I wanted to explore the bigger meaning behind stem cells and how they can help people all over the world for repairing themselves. This dilemma would be a very hard topic to research and it really intrigued me, so I decided to chose it. From exploring this dilemma, I learned a lot about Induced Pluripotent Stem cells (IPS).

z Discover There were some questions that I needed to ask in order for me to find an accurate and detailed solution for this biotechnology. I also found some very relevant answers to these questions. Here are some questions that needed to be answered during the research process: 1. Where do the IPS cells come from? 2. How are the IPS cells developed? 3. What are some benefits to IPS Cells? 4. What do other people think of these IPS cells? Are they for or against? 5. What are some disadvantages of IPS cells?

z Discover After asking these questions, I found some relevant answers to them. Here is what I found: For questions 1: Scientists first take small samples of skin (skin biopsies) from someone with a disease and take them to a research lab For question 2: From there, scientists take the skin samples and implant a virus inside. Basically, they are taking a healthy skin cell and changing it into a faulty, dysfunctioning and infected cell. For questions 3: From my research, I found that these IPS cells are great for giving scientists an idea of how a disease starts and what goes wrong. They are also terrific for modelling different diseases and showing a disease actually unfolding in a Petri dish. For question 4: I found out that there are some religious views on these IPS cells. Some Christians are against the stem cell research because of the fact that life begins at conception, before the embryo really begins it’s life. But there also some christians and churches who are supporting the stem cell research. Muslims are also supporting the research of stem cells. Most Jews are also okay with the stem cell research as well.

z Deliver On top of all these questions, I found a ton more information during my research, and I did some inferring as well. I discovered that there are some risks to these IPS cells. I found out that IPS cells are a risky therapy to take because after it is transplanted into the body, a tumour may form. Because of this, the patient could also experience instability. Another concern for IPS cell therapy is “designer babies. ” Designer babies are made by embryos that are implanted during “in vitro fertilization. ” People are concerned that this may lead to eugenics which is a branch of science that wants to give control to genetic features like intelligence, strength and looks. People are concerned of this because it means that society could lose certain traits. And because of this, it could result in lack of genetic diversity.

z Deliver After some research, I made some inferences according to my research. I answered the question: how can society adapt to the integration/implementation or advancement of this technology? Society will adapt to this technology. Things will change because people with very serious disorders or conditions will know about this new biotechnology and they will understand that it is very beneficial. Doctors and scientists will advertise these on TV or newspapers so that everyone will know about it and it’s benefits. People will go to labs where doctors will take a skin sample (skin biopsy) and send them to research labs where scientists will use this skin biopsiy and turn them into IPS cells. There can be more of these research labs in third world countries so that everyone will have somewhere to go to for therapy. It would also be helpful if people without disorders don’t comment on IPS cells. These people might think differently of therapy, and if people with disorders hear them, then they won’t even consider getting IPS cell therapy. Lastly, it would be very helpful if other doctors who specialize in different fields of healthcare, recommend this therapy. If people with disorders hear doctors points of views, then they will think to themselves: Oh, this must be a great therapy. This will convince them to get it.

z Debrief How did the process go? This process of finding valid information and making inferences based on the research was a very difficult thing to do. This project seemed to be tougher than I thought, but I managed to get through and get down as much information as I could. I think that the hardest part of the collaboration fluency was researching how the biotechnology worked. There was limited information, but it was enough to get me going and helped me answer my dilemma. The part of the project that was smoother was the benefits of the biotechnology. Although most of the project was very difficult, it was very helpful in getting me to answer my dilemma. Where could improvements be made? I think that I could have improved on the ethics template by comparing the IPS cells to other stem cells to find more science behind the biotechnology and also to explain more benefits of the biotechnology. I also think that I could have improved on putting the information into my own words. I think that there could have been ways to reword my information into a paragraph that is more understandable for younger kids to read.