Survey Results

Hi bloggers,

Here are the results from the survey I posted several weeks ago. Click on the link to view the breakdown of the multiple choice responses.

Click here for survey results.


The following are several of the answers to the questions that required a personal comments:

Question: Please describe, to the best of your ability, what you think embryonic stem cell research is and how it is done.

Several Responses:

I think there are two main ways to apply stem cell research, regenerative medicine and also in the study of differentiation for use in examining pathways and gene therapies. Embryonic stem cell research is conducted by removing the inner cell mass from a blastula and culturing them.

Embryonic stem research is a done in a laboratory in some hospital, it is a method to assist in pregnancy and/or find remedies to genetic diseases.

Stem cells are taken from unwanted embryos (excess from IVF) that have been killed. Research is being performed on stem cells to find cures for diseases such as Parkinson's, where being able to regenerate new cells from the stem cells is needed. Embryonic stem cells can be triggered to differentiate into any type of cell needed, so embryonic stem cell research has the possibility of curing many, many diseases.

Embryonic stem cell research is when research is conduct with stem cells from embryonic cells which would be discard if it was not used for research. I am not quite sure how it is done, but the embryonic stem cells are used to group strands of other stem cells which could be used to replicate into any cell we would want it to become. For example a stem cell could be used to create nerve cells.

with embryonic research we can take the placenta and perform genetic experiments on it with the DNA. There are human cells present which allow us to manipulate the information present along with using the cells for research that could not be conducted productively on a false cell.

An either aborted or miscarried zygote or fetus has its stem cells extracted in order to use those stem cells to do medical research and perhaps help cure diseases and cancer.

Question: To the best of your ability, please describe what you think induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are and how they are made. If you don't know please write "I don't know"

Several Responses:

Induced pluripotent stem cells come from differentiated cells which genes for stemness had been added via retroviruses and are induced to de-differentiate into stem cells.

I believe they are either adult stem cells that can be induced to become pluripotent, or they are cells that are somehow synthesized and induced to become pluripotent. This would allow them an ability similar to embryonic stem cells to differentiate into any type of cell needed.

Use of adult stem cells in a way that mimics the possible capabilities of embryonic stem cells.

20/33 Said they did not know

Question: For those that answer stated that they are opposed to iPS cells or are somewhat opposed to iPS cells Please describe some of your reasoning in the space below.

I didn't answer as either of those choices. I put does not apply because I don't really know enough about them!

I don't really know much about it but if it could help someone in a positive way im for it

Much of the responses included responses such as "I don't know enough about them", etc.


Thanks to everyone who participated. If you still have not completed the survey but would like to do so, you can find it here: Click Here to take survey