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Chuck Murray gave a TED Talk about growing cardiac muscle from stem cells to help heart attack survivors. He discussed how heart disease is the leading cause of death and healthcare expense in the US. The heart is the least regenerative organ, so scar formation after a heart attack can lead to a deficit in heart muscle. Murray believes that using stem cells as medicine can combat this. He suggests transplanting lab-grown cardiac muscle cells into the hearts of survivors to improve their cardiovascular health. This relates to our biology class, where we are studying the circulatory system. Hi, I'm Carly Crane. For my second bio badge, I did the podcaster bio badge, in which I listened to a TED Talk by Chuck Murray about growing cardiac muscle from stem cells to transplant into the hearts of heart attack survivors. Chuck Murray talks about his mom, Donna, who had a heart attack and survived it. She experienced a loss of heart muscle, which caused her to lose energy and make it harder for her to complete basic tasks. Eventually, she unfortunately died from heart failure. Heart disease is the number one killer in the world, and it is the number one United States health care expense, as well as the number one reason that people go to the hospital in the United States. Heart attacks are so deadly because the heart is the least regenerative organ in the human body. This means that the heart cannot grow back new muscle, so it heals by scar formation, which can lead to people having a deficit in a heart muscle, which means that the heart can't keep up with the body's demand for blood flow. Chuck Murray, the speaker, believes that the way to combat this is to use stem cells as medicine. Stem cells are cells that can divide many times over and can differentiate to turn into skin, brain, and kidney cells, as well as others. However, the heart does not naturally possess stem cells. Therefore, scientists must bring certain stem cells, specifically pluripotent stem cells, from other places in the body. Chuck Murray's idea is to transplant cardiac muscle cells that have been grown in a lab into the hearts of heart attack survivors. This will provide them with a stronger cardiac muscle, meaning a longer, healthier, and happier life. This TED Talk relates to our biology class because we are currently learning about the circulatory system, which is comprised of the heart and many other components, and this TED Talk is focusing on the heart and heart muscle. Thank you.
