Seminar on Stem Cells Research
What are stem cells? How do they function? Are they the key to longevity or even life regeneration? On Nov 14, Professor Huanxing Su from the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) was invited to broaden students’ knowledge frontier with the latest advancement of stem cell research. About 50 students from SPC participated in the talk.
Professor Su first introduced what stem cells are, their types and characteristics, and where they are located in a human body. Then he proceeded into their valuable application in cell therapy, research and new drugs. Some commonly known applications include breast reconstruction and bone/cartilage repair. Stem cells could also be applied in regenerating damaged human tissues and organs.
Besides the benefits, the seminar also delineated ethical issues on the use of stem cells. Should we extract stem cells from unborn human embryos for medical research? Is destroying embryos for stems cells the same as taking life? Should we engage in human cloning research? Human cloning is currently banned around the world.
Students were fascinated by the magical functions and applications of stem cells and continued to ask Professor Su follow-up questions after the talk. This talk is the first one in a tripartite series. The next one will be held in January 2018 in which Professor Su will delve more into the use of stem cells in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson.
幹細胞研究講座
什麼是幹細胞？他們如何運作？他們是不是長壽或長生不老的關鍵？於11月14日，來自中華醫藥研究院（ICMS）的蘇煥興教授應邀幫助學生擴大幹細胞研究領域的知識前沿。約有50名紹邦學生參加了講座。
蘇教授首先介紹了幹細胞是什麼，它們的類型和特性，以及它們在人體內的位置。然後講解細胞治療，研究和新藥的應用。一些常見的應用包括人造乳房和骨/軟骨修復等。幹細胞也有機會用於讓損傷的人體組織和器官再生培植。
除了好處之外，這講座還談到了使用幹細胞的倫理問題。我們是否應該從未出生的人類胚胎中提取幹細胞進行醫學研究？為了幹細胞而破壞胚胎是否與奪取生命一樣？我們應該進行克隆人的研究嗎？目前全世界都禁止克隆人的探索研究。
學生們都被幹細胞的神奇功能和應用所吸引，並在講座後繼續向蘇教授提出多個後續問題。這是幹細胞三部曲系列中講座的第一個。下一次將在1月份舉行，蘇教授將進一步探討研究幹細胞在治療神經退行性疾病如老人痴呆和帕金森病的用途。
Professor Su explaining the application of stem cells/蘇教授講解幹細胞的應用
Professor Su answering student’s question on regenerative medicine /蘇教授回答學生關於再生醫藥的問題
About 50 SPC students participated in the seminar /約有50紹邦名學生參加了研討會