Essay about Alternatives to Human-embryo Stem-cell Research

Most people are against Embryonic Stem Cell research mainly because they consider it unethical to use aborted fetuses for research. The two main issues concerning the research are the ethics (Cons) and the benefits (Pros). In any scientific case, ethics must always be considered. But the use of fetuses is something that is of the utmost importance. The costs are generally measured based off of people’s feelings, morals, and knowledge about the subject up for debate. The use of aborted fetuses for stem cell research may have many positive outcomes that can come of it, but many negative outcomes as well; If using aborted fetuses for research can, in the near future, save lives, then it is a research that should be supported, even though some

Once there is an understanding of how embryonic cells are taken from the body, it can be explained why they should be used contrary to the beliefs some people have. First, Embryonic cells can cure diseases. For example, if someone is paralyzed, doctors can take an embryonic cell and use this to cure the patient (nih.gov). A man named Rusty Leech, from Michigan, was able to regain sensation in his body, when he previously could not because of a car accident. Two months of physical therapy and embryonic stem cell injections enabled him to regain feeling below his waist again. He has regained limited muscle use to help him go to the bathroom and move his legs a little on his own. “The results were unbelievable, to feel the sensations in my body that weren’t

Adult stem cells have already proven to be successful in treating diseases and have helped hundreds of thousands of patients, and new clinical uses expand almost weekly. Adult stem cells can be obtained from cord blood, fat, neural tissue, muscle, bone marrow, placental and skin cells. Adult stem cells are increasingly being shown to have a similar and perhaps an identical capacity to become cells of other types. There is a possibility that adult stem cells may function more efficiently and more safely than embryonic cells. Treena Arinzeh, a young professor who last year won a Presidential Award, the nation's highest scientific honor, is bringing the promise of stem cell research one step closer to reality. Adult stem cells also have a unique trait that lends them their magic: Under the right conditions, or given the proper signals, they have the ability to turn into different cell types. Arinzeh is doing exactly that: developing signals, in the form of biomaterials, that will help adult stem cells turn into cells that, if injected into a diseased area of the human body, could regenerate damaged tissue. Her research has also led to two major stem-cell discoveries: One showing that stem cells, when mixed with biomaterials known as scaffolds, can help regenerate bone growth; and another proving that stem cells taken from one person can be successfully implanted into another. A list of conditions for which stem-cell treatment holds promise grows almost daily: It now

First of all an understanding of what a stem cell is, where it comes from, and the significance of it's medical potential is essential. Stem cells are the "master cells" that form the human body or whatever other animal it is from. Stem cells can be extracted from adult tissues, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood ( ), and embryos in the blastocyst stage. Although scientists have found ways to manipulate the stem cells from adult sources into other types of cells, they claim that they are less capable of deriving the desired tissue and are not "biologically equivalent" ( ) to stem cells extracted from embryos.

In essence, pluripotent cells are a universal building block within the human body, capable of becoming an eye, an arm, or even a nervous system.

It is easy to collect, more likely to provide a perfect match for the user, and is stored frozen ready for use. It is basically far easier and more accessible for use rather than adult or embryonic stem cells.

One of the pros of stem cell research Adult stem cells can be reprogrammed and are less likely to be rejected when used in transplants.Embryonic stem cells can grow for at least a year in some cases, especially when established protocols are used These cells can also be used to generate more cell types like Induced pluripotent stem cells help avoid issues of histocompatibility in transplants, and research on these cells will help reprogram diseased or damaged tissues

Contrarily, supporters of embryonic stem cell research argue that such research should be pursued because the resultant treatments could have significant medical potential. In addition, leftover embryos could be given with permission and

Stem cells are a type of cells that are responsible for the renewal and the regeneration of damaged and ageing tissues. Stem cells can be divided into two categories: Embryonic Stem cells and Adult stem cells also known as Somatic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can be retrieve from the foetus, amniotic fluid, the placenta, and the umbilical cord blood and in the early embryo. Adult stem cells can be retrieved from many other parts of the body once a child has been born and through to adulthood. Those parts of the body are skin, hair follicles, bone marrow and blood, brain and spinal cord, the lining of the nose, gut, lung, joint fluid, muscle, fat, menstrual blood and etc. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, which mean they can develop into any of the 220 different body cells while adult stem cells only be able to develop into muscle, bone marrow and brain cells.

Stem cells can become many different types. Later in life, stem cells also can replace worn-out or damaged cells. Embryonic stem cells can be grown relatively easily in culture. These cells come from embryos that are three to five days old. Embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body because they are pluripotent. These are pluripotent stem cells, meaning they can divide into more stem cells or can become any type of cell in the body. Adult stem cells are thought to be limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells cannot transform into any and every cell type. These stem cells have been identified in many organs and tissues, including brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscle, skin, teeth, heart, gut, liver, ovarian epithelium, and testis.

To avoid the use of embryonic stem cells, other researchers have focused more on the use of adult stem cells, but the use of these cells is limited because, unlike embryonic stem cells that grow into any type of mature cell, adult stem cells can only grow into certain cell types.

In the past century there have been many breakthroughs focused on extending human life. One such discovery is the controversial use of cells taken from human tissue. These are commonly referred to as stem cells. Stem cells are beneficial to human beings from being able to regenerate damaged to cells, to helping find cures to some of the most known diseases such as Rett’s disease, a disease that attacks the nervous system, and to reducing abnormalities in genes that give some humans many genetic disorders such as Down syndrome. Stem cells should not be prohibited regardless if they come from embryotic or adult stem cells. They all are valuable, and, with more research, they can possibly help extend

Research is being conducted on both embryonic and adult stem cells due to their ability to divide indefinitely. By keeping a close eye on stem cells as they mature into specialized cells, doctors and

Embryonic stem cells that have multiplied in a cell culture for six months without differentiating, are pluripotent, and appear genetically similar to normal cells are termed as embryonic stem cells. During tests, scientists test the stem cells to see if they exhibit the fundamental properties that make them embryonic stem cells to differentiate them from other cells. An adult stem cell is an “undiffertiated” cell found among differentiated cells in an organ or tissue that can renew itself, and can differentiate to produce specialized cell types of the tissue or organ. Also, unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells origins in mature tissues or organs are a mystery. One population of stem cells called hematopoietic cells is responsible for all the blood cells in the body. Similarly stromal cells are responsible for the generations of bone, cartilage, fat and connective tissues such as tendons.

The way that stem cells work, which includes both embryonic and non-embryonic, is interesting in a lot of assets. Like all cells, stem cells need to perform cell division in order for them to probably function and do their jobs, so they need to go through things such as telekinesis mitosis and even meiosis. Embryonic stem cells start off in the blastocyst, or cell embryo that contains approximately 150 cells (MCS, 2013) MCS: Mayo Clinic Staff. After this occurs, the embryonic stems cells will then assemble healthy cells in order to block out or even discontinue old sick ones (MCS, 2013). Adult stem cells are a tad different then embryonic stem cells are as far as there development goes. In the adult stems cell’s development process, Rather than starting out as an egg or fetus, it is already found in your body in places like tissue, bone marrow etcetera, which means that you don’t have to create it like the embryonic stem, however, because of this they don’t have as much ability to differentiate (NIH, 2016). Embryonic stem cells are used, and researched to a much larger extent then adult stem cells due to the fact that adult stem cells are