Hoh, Yin Kiong

Gene therapy has fascinated clinicians, scientists, and patients since decades ago because of its potential to treat a disease at the genetic level. This can be achieved in many ways, including replacing a disease-causing gene with a healthy copy. Gene therapy must overcome complex tissue and cellular barriers to introduce genetic modifications into the nucleus of the target cells to drive a high level of gene expression. Moreover, the genetically corrected cells must be present in significantly large numbers in the body to reverse the diseased condition and yet able to escape immunological recognition and survive in the long term to sustain the benefit. This paper reviews the early work as well as recent developments in gene therapy, including improvements to viral vectors and novel treatment strategies, diseases targeted, approved gene therapies, and current challenges and prospects for future progress.

Stem cell therapy, a cutting-edge technology, aims to replace damaged cells with healthy ones. Stem cells possess the remarkable ability to multiply and differentiate into various cell types, making them ideal candidates for regenerative medicine. This therapy holds promise for treating a wide range of conditions and injuries. In this review, I will delve into the historical context of stem cell research and therapy, provide updates on clinical trials for different conditions, address the challenges faced in stem cell therapy, and explore strategies to overcome these obstacles. Additionally, I will discuss the ethical and legal implications associated with stem cell therapy. A lesson plan for teaching the challenges and ethical issues of stem cell therapy is found at the end of the review.

Informal science education has become a key area of emphasis for providing students with learning experiences that complement or extend what is covered in the science classroom as well as in enthusing them about science in general. In Singapore, informal science education is recognized by schools to be an important aspect of enhancing especially the affective dimension of the learning process. A range of informal science destinations in Singapore are available to cater to the educational needs of students – for example, science center, zoo, bird park, natural history museum, and botanic gardens. Others include destinations where science and technology are used to come up with products for the marketplace – for example, semiconductor industries, soft drinks factories, etc. The wide availability of such destinations for informal science education within the small city-state is one reason why schools have been able to leverage on a diversity of such platforms to organize field trips for their students. This chapter explores the informal science education scene in Singapore. Some points of interest emerging from the establishment of key destinations for informal science learning are also presented.