United States stem cell research

One of the most significant contributions of bioengineering to the military is in the development of treatments for severe traumas sustained during warfare. For example, stem cell research may one day enable military physicians to regenerate functional tissues such as nerves, bone, cartilage, skin, and muscle—an invaluable tool for helping those who have lost limbs or other body parts as a result of explosives. The United States military was responsible for much of the early research done in creating safe, effective artificial blood substitutes that could be easily stored and relied on to be free of contamination on the batdefield. 

While most individuals with sickle cell disease have Mediterranean or African ancestry, it is common practice to screen all newborns in the United States for the condition. Research shows that early intervention can reduce the risk of serious infection, the leading cause of death in children with sickle cell disease. Intensive chemotherapy and stem cell... 

Currently, stem ceU research is being conducted aroimd the world, but such research has been fiercely debated in the United States. To what extent should people be allowed to experiment with or manipulate human cells We have success-ftilly cloned animals. Should we be allowed... 

To meet these criteria, research investigators from fourteen laboratories in the United States, India, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, and South Korea derived stem cells from seventy-one individual, genetically diverse blastocysts. These ceU lines were the only ones that U.S. researchers were allowed to use if they received any National Institutes of Health funding for their research. 

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health supports short-term training courses in human embryonic stem cell culture techniques. These training courses include hands-on experience to improve the knowledge and skills of biomedical researchers to maintain, characterize, and use human embryonic stem cells in basic research studies. The courses are given at various locations throughout the United States. 

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