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Research Proposal
David Wright
Independent Research G/T
2016-2017
Regeneration in Humans: Is the wrong question being asked?
Introduction and Overview of Research:
Background and Rationale:
According to advancedamputtes.com, there are about 185,000 new amputees each year
and about two million amputees in total in the United states. This is an extremely high number,
as people may become amputees from a multitude of reasons that include: war, sickness and
disease, and just freak accidents.
Not only do humans lose limbs, but they also lose or damage their organs or other body
parts that are concealed within themselves. For example, cancer may affect organs in the body
and infect them with tumors. According to optn.transplant.hrsa.gov, twenty two people die while
awaiting transplants each day. If people could have their own cells regrow their limbs and organs
themselves, it would solve a lot of medical problems we currently face and would, most
importantly, reduce the number of deaths and amputees because of many sicknesses and
diseases.
Scientists have been trying to research furthering the quality of human regeneration for
years. Humans do have the ability to heal themselves, but at a much slower rate and this only
happens for a select few parts of our bodies. For example, humans can regrow skin if we fall and
scrape our knee, but if we damage our spine, it will be damaged forever. If regeneration in
humans could be made a possibility, this would not only reduce the number of people forced to
live life without limbs, but it would also mean they would not need to get donors to replace their
damaged organs. Not only would this be convenient because they would not have to wait for that
organ to come, but they would not have to worry about their body rejecting someone elses
organs, as it would be their own cells creating a brand new organ to replace the older, damaged
one.
Search Methodology:
Research Question- How could the ability of regeneration in humans benefit human life and how
could this be made possible?
Research Hypothesis- Regeneration in humans would decrease the amount of deaths and
amputees in the world and may be made possible one day through use of stem cells.
A major thing that will be argued in this research project is the use of embryonic stem
cells. As of now, they have the best chance to make regeneration in humans a reality, but are
frowned upon by many in the society. Extracting stem cells from embryos inevitably means that
the embryo will perish and lose its chance for life.
Research Design Model-

The type of research that was conducted during this was quantitative. More specifically,
the research was experimental.This type of research was chosen because a relationship between
stem cells and regeneration is trying to be found. Experimental research is a research that
determines if the independent and dependant variables have any correlation, so this research fits
perfectly with the topic at hand.
Data CollectionData and statistics has been obtained through scholarly research online through many
different websites made and edited by scientists who are also researching the same topic. The
next form of research will come from conducting interviews from actual scientists in person or
through phone calls. This was chosen as a form of data collection so that the data found could be
as up to date and reliable as possible. This will also be much more reliable than previously
obtained information, as it will be directly form a primary source and not recycled off of the
internet or articles.
Product Objectives:
The product of this years worth of study will most likely be a movie showing knowledge
about the topic and possible breakthroughs that may be discovered. This was chosen as the
means to present the collected data, as it would be a chance to show a larger amount of
information in a shorter amount of time, while still making the information come off as
interesting to the viewer(s).
The movie will be shown to as many people as possible, but the target audience will be
those who are amputees, those who personally know amputees, people who are in need of organ
donors or personally know someone who does, and people who are interested in the topic for
whatever other reason. This is the target audience because this specific pool of information
should not only interest but apply to them the most.
Logistical Considerations:
Resources that will be required for the project and the product will be: specific people in
the field, organizations that specialize in this research, and secondary sources that may contain
valuable information. Special considerations for the primary sources would be possible
transportation, availability, means of communication, and premade questions to gain the most out
of each interview. No permission from anyone should be needed to share the final product. In
third quarter, a timeline will be added that outlines the data collection, product development, and
audience distribution.