Coursera

The Science of Stem Cells (Coursera)

Offered by American Museum of Natural History,

What promise do stem cells hold for the treatment of medical conditions? In this five-part online course you will explore the history and basic biology of stem cells, learn about new research techniques, and find out how stem cells could lead to cures for diseases and to individualized medicine.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

You will hear from Museum scientists, medical researchers at the frontiers of the field, and a panel of bioethics experts who will address the ethical implications of stem cell research and therapy. Learn what has already been accomplished, what challenges remain, and what medical breakthroughs may lie ahead.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction to Stem Cells
Welcome to The Science of Stem Cells! You will begin with a basic overview of stem cells--what they are, the history of stem cell research, and the potential for stem cell therapies. You will also learn from AMNH biologist Julia Zichello that stem cells are found throughout the tree of life.

WEEK 2
How Do Stem Cells Work?
This week, New York University’s Dr. Esteban Mazzoni will discuss how scientists can coax stem cells to differentiate into particular cell types. Dr. Mazzoni will also talk about new stem cell-assisted technologies such as mitochondrial replacement therapy and generating chimeras for organ transplantation. You will also get some background information on the science and ethics of cloning.

WEEK 3
Using Stem Cells to Study Disease
We have covered the process by which scientists can differentiate cells in a culture dish. Now you will look at how scientists can use these cell to model diseases in a culture dish. Dr. Andrew Sproul from Columbia University explains how cultured cells can be used to understand the cause of diseases and to look for drugs that will potentially cure them. His research is on Alzheimer’s disease. You will also explore how how stem cells have the potential to help with the study of diabetes.

WEEK 4
Using Stem Cells to Treat Disease
In addition to the great potential of stem cells to be used in the study of disease, stem cells can also be used to actually treat disease. Neural stem cell pioneer Dr. Sally Temple will explain the potential for using stem cells in our own bodies (adult stem cells) to treat age-related macular degeneration, an increasingly common and debilitating disease. Dr. Temple will also give you some tools for evaluating potential stem cell treatments.

WEEK 5
The Bioethics of Stem Cell Research and Therapy
To complete the course, a panel of bioethics experts will discuss some of the controversies surrounding human embryonic stem cells and the legal, policy, and ethical challenges associated with the use of stem cells in basic and clinical research. You will have an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about the future of reproductive technology and stem cell research.

Go to Class

MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Edinburgh

Philosophy, Science and Religion: Religion and Science (Coursera)

Humanities

Philosophy, Science and Religion mark three of the most fundamental modes of thinking about the world and our place in it. Are these modes incompatible? Put another way: is the intellectually responsible thing to do to ‘pick sides’ and identify with one of these approaches at the exclusion of others? Or, are they complementary or mutually supportive? As is typical of questions of such magnitude, the devil is in the details. For example, it is important to work out what is really distinctive about each of these ways of inquiring about the world. In order to gain some clarity here, we’ll be investigating what some of the current leading thinkers in philosophy, science and religion are actually doing.

Aug 11th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Science Evolution Universe

Coursera

Duke University

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution is a college-level class being offered simultaneously to new students at Duke University. The course gives interested people a very basic overview of some principles behind these very fundamental areas of biology. We often hear about new "genome sequences," commercial kits that can tell you about your ancestry (including pre-human) from your DNA or disease predispositions, debates about the truth of evolution, why animals behave the way they do, and how people found "genetic evidence for natural selection." This course provides the basic biology you need to understand all of these issues better, tries to clarify some misconceptions, and tries to prepare students for future, more advanced coursework in Biology (and especially evolutionary genetics). No prior coursework is assumed.

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Science Biology Life

Coursera

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dynamical Modeling Methods for Systems Biology (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Sci: Mathematics

An introduction to dynamical modeling techniques used in contemporary Systems Biology research. We take a case-based approach to teach contemporary mathematical modeling techniques. The course is appropriate for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. Lectures provide biological background and describe the development of both classical mathematical models and more recent representations of biological processes. The course will be useful for students who plan to use experimental techniques as their approach in the laboratory and employ computational modeling as a tool to draw deeper understanding of experiments.

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Biology MATLAB Biotechnology

Coursera

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Charles Darwin: El origen del evolucionismo moderno (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences

Este curso está dirigido a cualquier persona que desee conocer de manera general qué es y cómo se ha explicado la evolución de las especies. Será de gran interés para alumnos, profesores y profesionales del área de ciencias biológicas y de la salud que deseen conocer los antecedentes históricos, así como los fundamentos centrales de la teoría de Charles Darwin, que configuraron el pensamiento evolutivo moderno.

Aug 10th 2026

4 Weeks

Biology Evolution Charles Darwin

Coursera

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Introduction to Systems Biology (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Health & Society

This course will introduce the student to contemporary Systems Biology focused on mammalian cells, their constituents and their functions. Biology is moving from molecular to modular. As our knowledge of our genome and gene expression deepens and we develop lists of molecules (proteins, lipids, ions) involved in cellular processes, we need to understand how these molecules interact with each other to form modules that act as discrete functional systems.

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Science Biology

Coursera

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Emergence of Life (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences

How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life. This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which revolutionized our understanding with a new "Tree of Life."

Aug 10th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Earth Biology Astrobiology

Coursera

Johns Hopkins University

Understanding Cancer Metastasis (Coursera)

Health & Society Medicine & Pharmacology

Over 500,000 people in the United States and over 8 million people worldwide are dying from cancer every year. As people live longer, the incidence of cancer is rising worldwide, and the disease is expected to strike over 20 million people annually by 2030. Everyone has been, or will be touched by cancer in some way during their lifetime. Thanks to years of dedication and commitment to research we’ve made enormous advances in the prevention and treatment of cancer, But there is still a lot of work to be done. In this course, physicians and scientists at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine explain how cancer spreads or metastasizes.

Aug 10th 2026

3 Weeks

Health Cancer Molecular Biology

Coursera

University of Copenhagen

Diabetes - a Global Challenge (Coursera)

Health & Society Medicine & Pharmacology

Diabetes and obesity are growing health problems in rich and poor countries alike. With this course you will get updated on cutting-edge diabetes and obesity research including biological, genetic and clinical aspects as well as prevention and epidemiology of diabetes and obesity. All lectures are provided by high-profile scientists from one the world's leading universities in diabetes research.

Aug 17th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Medicine Health Diabetes

Coursera

University of Edinburgh

Intellectual Humility: Science (Coursera)

Humanities

It’s clear that the world needs more intellectual humility. But how do we develop this virtue? And why do so many people still end up so arrogant? Do our own biases hold us back from becoming as intellectually humble as we could be—and are there some biases that actually make us more likely to be humble? Which cognitive dispositions and personality traits give people an edge at being more intellectually humble - and are they stable from birth, learned habits, or something in between? And what can contemporary research on the emotions tell us about encouraging intellectual humility in ourselves and others?

Aug 17th 2026

4 Weeks

Science Philosophy Psychology

Coursera

University of North Texas

Contemporary Biology (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences

This course is an introduction to biology as it applies to our everyday life. Learners will explore the interplay between science and self through a personalized case study of themselves and their environment. By the end of the course, learners will be able to recognize the interactions among natural phenomena and the implications of the scientific principles behind the physical world and their experiences living in it.

Aug 17th 2026

4 Weeks

Biology Eukaryotic DNA

Coursera

University of Colorado Boulder

Engineering Genetic Circuits: Design (Coursera)

Engineering

This course gives an introduction to the biology and biochemistry necessary to understand genetic circuits. It starts by providing an engineering viewpoint on genetic circuit design and a review of cells and their structure. The second module introduces genetic parts and the importance of standards followed by a discussion of genetic devices used within circuit design. The last two modules cover experimental techniques and construction methods and principles applied during the design process.  

Aug 17th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Biology Biochemistry Genetic Engineering

Coursera

Rutgers University

Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences - Unit 2: Belief Systems (Coursera)

Humanities Social Sciences

Throughout history, the vast majority of people around the globe have believed they have, however defined, a “soul.” While the question of whether the soul exists cannot be answered by science, what we can study are the causes and consequences of various beliefs about the soul and its prospects of surviving the death of the body. Why are soul and afterlife beliefs so common in human history? Are there adaptive advantages to assuming souls exist?

Aug 3rd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Biology Evolution History