The Explanatory

Are Stem Cells a Failure? In the early 2000s there was a new idea generating discussion in the medical field. Stem cells started to become buzzwords that drew the attention of the general public. It also grabbed the interest of anyone suffering from serious medical ailments or disabilities. At that point, most of the US general public knew about it, or at least had heard of it. It eventually found its way into the sphere of celebrities and politicians who saw great potential in its use. Actor Christopher Reeves, who was alive and paralyzed from the neck down at the time, was one of its biggest proponents hinting how it might be the key to cure his paralysis one day. As of 2020, over 3 billions dollars later, very little has come in the way of federally approved treatment. Many people have lost patience and many in the public are wondering what happened to all that hope and potential. Credits Video clips from : StoryBlocks, archive.org Icons from: Freepik, flaticons.com References Special thanks to "The miracle cell" series by the San Francisco Chronical [1San Francisco Chronicle, "The "Miracle Cell" ]https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2018/stem-cells/politics/ [2] San Francisco Chronicle, "The Miracle Cell" https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2018/stem-cells/research/ [3] "In the trenches: lessons for scientists from California's Proposition 71 campaign", Lawrence Goldstein

Can Viruses Cure Cancer? A blood cancer patient was in full remission after an injection of the measles virus. Another patient, this time with a brain tumor, had his tumor completely killed off for a brief period after the flu virus was injected directly into his brain. And finally, A patient with bladder cancer was completely cured by an injection of the cold virus. So, what's going on here? Why are scientists using viruses as treatments for cancer? But more importantly: how is this actually working? Video clips from : StoryBlocks, archive.org Icons from: Freepik, flaticons.com References (1). "History of oncolytic viruses: genesis to genetic engineering". Elizabeth Kelly, Steph Russel https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17299401/ (2) "A Common Cold Virus Wiped Away Bladder Cancer in One Patient", Yasemin Saplakoglu www.livescience.com/65908-cold-virus-might-treat-bladder-cancer.html (3)"Unleashing the cold virus to kill cancer", Ronda Wendler https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/conquest/unleashing-the-cold-virus-to-kill-cancer.h4236-1589835.html (4)"Massive dose of measles vaccine kills woman's cancer in ‘landmark’ U.S. trial", National Post https://nationalpost.com/news/massive-dose-of-measles-vaccine-kills-womans-cancer-in-landmark-u-s-trial (5) "Final analyses of OPTiM: a randomized phase III trial of talimogene laherparepvec......" Andtbacka, R.H.I., Collichio, F., Harrington, K.J. et al. https://jitc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40425-019-0623-z

Can we cure Blindness? A survey conducted in the United stated once stated that more Americans fear vision loss than serious medical problems such as cancer and heart stroke[. Its not all surprising, Many of us who wear glasses find it difficult just to not have them on for a few hours let alone having to do multiple tasks without them. But luckily for us, technology did bring us glasses to correct our eyesight, but can it go one step further and allow those who are completely blind to see? Can technology replicate the visual process in the eye? [*] The institution count is based on the time of the article (in reference [6]) Credits Video clips from : StoryBlocks, "Blind Hope Documentary", Second Sight Eye illustration : Smart Servier Medical art (https://smart.servier.com/) Icons from: Freepik, flaticons.com References: [1] World Health Organization, “Global Data on Visual Impairment 2010 Report” *This number is based on a 2010 estimate [2] “How eyes work” National Eye Institute. https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/healthy-vision/how-eyes-work [3] Health Quality Ontario, “Retinal Prosthesis System for Advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Health Technology Assessment Update” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5692298/ [4] Russ Jaskalian, Technology Review “A new implant for blind people jacks directly into the brain” https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/06/844908 [5] Sheila Nirenberg and Chethan Pandarinath, “Retinal prosthetic strategy with the capacity to restore normal vision” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3443127/ [6] Alice Brandli et al, “Progress in the clinical development and utilization of vision prostheses: an update” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5398739/