13.- Stem cells- The future. An introduction to iPS cells

All make every type of cell in our body

Make only the cells found in their own tissues

Make embryonic stem cells

Make only red blood cells

Make only the types of specialized cells found in the early embryo

Make all the different types of specialized cells found in the body

Make special ‘factors’ that change all other cells into stem cells

Copy themselves

That embryonic stem cells are pluripotent

That sometimes development goes backwards in our bodies

That specialized cells can be reprogrammed to behave like tissue stem cells

That specialized cells can be reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced particulate stem cells

Inductable pluripotent stem cells

Individual pluripotent stem cells

iPS cells can make more types of specialized cells than embryonic stem cells

iPS cells can only be made from animal cells

iPS cells can be made from an individual patient’s cells

iPS cells are found in our adult bodies

Studying what goes wrong in diseases

Testing drugs on human cells

Making cells to be transplanted into patients

None of the above

Yes but only for genetic diseases

No and scientists are sure they will never be used to make cells for transplants

Not yet. Scientists need to understand reprogramming better to develop therapies

Yes but only if the patient requests iPS cells

iPS cells can be made without destroying an embryo

iPS cells are artificial so we don’t have to worry about ethics

Shinya Yamanaka is a doctor so we can trust him

iPS cells are easy to make so it’s too late to think about ethics

Scientists have already made a new human being from a piece of skin

In the future, iPS cells may be useful for helping infertile couples

iPS cells can breed with each other in a dish

None of the above

They could be used to make cells for an individual patient that would not be rejected

They will make it easier to identify drugs that are likely to work in humans

They are very useful for studying inherited diseases

All of the above