CORE 168S - Stem Cells, Gene Therapy, and Bionics: The Making and Remaking of the Human Body

This course examines several topics on the cutting edge of regenerative science. It initially focuses on the body’s ability to repair itself. Students examine the nature of stem cells, as well as the limitations and potential for future work with these cells. The course then explores how gene therapy techniques have the potential to repair a wide variety of genetic disorders, but may also bring about the possibility of selective improvement in normally functioning bodies. Finally, students look at how scientists are developing techniques to grow organs in the laboratory to replace damaged or injured organs, and how bionic parts are being investigated increasingly as alternatives to biological replacements. Along the way, the class considers the ethical and social concerns that surround each of these approaches, and explores whether current definitions of humanity will apply well to a future where we can increasingly manipulate fundamental aspects of the human body.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
Area of Inquiry: None
Liberal Arts CORE: Scientific Perspectives

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