Lesson 7: Stem Cells

Suggested Time: 60 mins
Overview
Students will learn about stem cells and their many applications in medicine and science.
Vocabulary
Objectives
Required Project Materials
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/ Background Information
The Lesson
Part 1: Stem Cells (30 mins)
  1. Review material from Chapters 1 and 2 of Stem Cells .
  2. Each student will take a different section from Chapter 3. For example, one student will read “Stem Cells May Greatly Reduce the Need for Animal Research Via Modeling,” while someone else will read “Cell Fusion and Confusion of Cell Identity”. Allow a few minutes for reading, then go around the room. Each student will share a brief summary of what they just read.
  3. If you have more students than chapter sections, have the students pair up, or use sections from Chapters 4 and 5 as well.
  4. Summarize “Acid Shock Converts Adult Cells to Stem Cells.” What does this mean for the medical sciences? How is it related to engineering?
Part 2: Stem Cell Engineers (30 mins)
  1. In pairs, students will play the “Bioengineering” game. Who can solve the problem first? Are there different ways to solve the problem? What are they?
  2. Allow students to explore other games on the site, such as “Become a Medical Engineer” and “How are Drugs Developed?”, “Produce a Drug Target,” and “Develop a Drug.”
  3. Allow 10 minutes at the end of class for discussion. Ask: what are the various kinds of treatments the students explored? How does stem cell treatment compare with other kinds of treatment? Are there any ailments they treated that could also have been treated using stem cells? What are the advantages and disadvantages of stem cell treatments?
Homework:
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