Stem cells are never far from media coverage and because of their properties they are regarded as the answer to nearly all health problems. This film also relates how the stem cells are marketed and the stem cell scientific and therapeutic reality today and where we are headed to in the future! When I was through watching Stem Cell Revolutions my first impression was, wow, is education this entertaining? For someone who has been in the stem cell field for a few years now, I would like to personally thank the two filmmakers, Amy Hardie and Clare Blackburn for a documentary that brings so much fascinating and illuminating information about stem cell research.
Stem Cell Revolutions carries us through a historical journey that starts with the discovery of stem cells during the study of patients in Hiroshima with radiation damage. Till and McCulloch, while studying the ‘factory of blood cells’, the bone marrow, stumbled upon blood stem cells, marking the earliest known stem cell discovery! It moves on to the discovery of other adult stem cell populations and the curing innovations such as Howard Green’s indexed work with skin grafts and Indian stem cell vision restoration. This leads us to arguably the most controversial stem cell type: the embryonic stem cells, a topic discussed by Sir Martin Evans who was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2007 for his groundbreaking findings about embryonic stem cells.
Let’s change focus and examine the development of iPSCs, a story that is no less than extraordinary how Professor Shinya Yamanaka managed to convert adult cells like skin into an embryonic stem cell like state. As Connie Eaves mentions above, “It turned our understanding of human development on its head”. What is good in this section (“What Am I Missing Here”), I think, is that we are being told that this had its basis in the cloning work done on frogs by Sir John Gurdon and the dolly sheep creation by Sir Ian Wilmut. At the end of the film, this is an interesting question that leads it, “Where Could It Lead?” From my perspective, concern stem cell research leads us in a decade excites me. In addition, the issues stem cell science is confronted with in terms of legislation prohibitions, ethical concerns, and technology limitations are restated and managed in a way that does not portray the sensationalism used by the media.
Eaves and Evans, Smith, and Yamanaka are just some of the key players in stem cell research and are featured in the documentary as well. From my perspective, AI does a good job with human analysis of internal hierarchies, as friends are juxtaposed and compared against one another for the sake of determining an optimal opportunity where these leaders will unfairly block the adoption of sensitive intelligence to avoid even more severe internal consequences. A viewpoint of someone outside the field itself has added a completely new perspective to the documentary and this is why it is brilliant. I found the confrontational dialogues between Margaret Atwood and the head of the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, A. Smith, especially entertaining. Perhaps the greatest impression remains from the animations and illustrations from the journey. stem cell biology is captivating by itself and these drawings bring out the most in it. I have to admit, I don’t see the purpose of the cycling man either. It is always fun to watch someone getting smiles from the surroundings.
Stem Cell Revolutions has a very interesting way of explaining the current position of stem cell research and the possibilities for the future. It is highly informative for learners of stem cell biology. It is staggering to consider that a lot of secrets which still need to be uncovered can be exposed by one simple question posed by Margaret Atwood while explaining the origins of art and science: “What if?”
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