Embryonic Stem Cells

Stem Cell research and its funding have caused a lot of controversy throughout the past years. Stem cells are cells that are present in all living organisms. These cells have the potential to grow into any type of cell, including blood cells, nerves, muscles, and pancreatic cells. Stem cell research is essential because of the beneficial aspects it has to offer. Stem cells could potentially treat conditions such as Alzheimer 's, Parkinson 's, birth defects, strokes, Diabetes, cancer, and help in the reconstruction of severely damaged organs. Although stem cell research withholds great potential for many medical advances, a lot of controversy surrounds the sources and methods of obtaining stem cells and the possibility of improper usage of the knowledge acquired from research and experimentation. It is necessary for scientist to continue research as well as recognizing any ethical issues that may be present.

Stem cells are a special group of cells found in all multicellular organisms. What makes them unique and different from other cells is the fact that they are unspecialized and have the potential to differentiate into diverse cell types while still maintaining the ability to replenish themselves. Generally, these cells are divided into 2 broad categories – the embryonic stem cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst and the adult stem cells that are harvested from the bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or the adipose tissue of an adult.

Christopher Reeve, better known as superman, was not only an actor, but also an athlete and an adventurer. On two separate occasions, he flew an airplane sole across the Atlantic Ocean. On Memorial Day weekend in 1995, Chris rode his horse, Buck, to the starting box of a cross-country race in Virginia. Chris had trained and raced horses for almost ten years, so he felt the course ahead of him would be easy. But what Chris did not see coming was just as he and Buck approached the third jump, Buck would come to a sudden stop, sending Chris over the jump. He landed directing on his head, fracturing two vertebrae in his neck. From that day on, he was completely paralyzed. At the time, there was no known treatment, no medication, and no surgery to fix his damaged spine. For the rest of his days, Chris raised money and awareness for research into spinal cord injuries. One of the topics he pushed for was embryonic stem cell research. Christopher Reeve died on October 10th, 2004, never fulfilling his goal to walk again. But if he had gotten the support and funding for stem cell research, his story might have ended differently. Embryonic stem cell research should be funded in the U.S because it could lead to the treatment to many diseases, there are other sources of stem cells, but they are limited to their use, and the eight-celled blastocysts cannot grow any further to form a baby, so it is not harming living human beings.

Embryonic stem cells are found in human blastocysts (Marcovitz 17). A blastocyst is a very young embryo (just a few days old) that contains around 200 undifferentiated stem cells (Marcovitz 17). German Zoologist Valentin Hacker coined the term “stem cell” after he discovered them in a blastocyst of a crustacean (Marcovitz 18). Embryonic stem cells were collected for the first time in 1988 by Dr. James Thomson of University of Wisconsin and by Dr. John Gearheart of Johns Hopkins (Panno 76). These stem cells are unspecialized; they do not perform a specific function like cells such as muscle and nerve do (“Stem Cells”). They are also pluripotent, meaning they have the ability to divide and become specialized cells (“Stem Cells”). This is why stem cells hold so

With exponential increases in the capabilities of modern technology, it only fits that we use this technology to further our existence as a species. Embryonic Stem Cell Research is one of the ways we have come up with to advance our species into the future. However, the perpetrators and supporters have been under fire and controversy since its inception in 1979. The protesters are fighting it mainly because it is destroying unborn fetuses in the process.Personally, I have a special and specific connection to embryonic stem cell research. As a Type 1 Diabetic, I know that the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation uses embryonic stem cell research in its efforts to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. The main use for the stem cells they have is

Researchers successfully attained embryonic stem cells from the embryos of mice in 1981, which led to the discovery of this process in human beings in 1998 (National Institutes of Health, 2001). Embryonic stem cells are derived from an in vitro embryo between five days and seven weeks. Regenerative medicine can benefit greatly from the characteristics of embryonic stem cells. This process enables damaged organs and tissues to heal themselves with the help of implanted stem cells matching the organ (Hunziker, 2010, p. 1). There are two traits

Stem cells are cells which can essentially form into any type of cell that can be found in the body. There are various types of stem cells. These include embryonic, adult, genetically reprogrammed adult stem cells, and perinatal stem cells. The most versatile, as well as controversial, type of stem cells are embryonic stem cells. These cells are found in 3-5 day old embryos which are formed through in vitro fertilization ("Stem Cell Basics" 1). While scientists have been able to reprogram adult stem cells to act as if they were embryonic, there is yet to be any conclusive evidence as to how the use of the altered cells will affect humans ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do" 1). The use of stem cells is largely focused on regenerative medicine which takes advantage of the stem cells versatility to create and replace damaged tissues in

There are many benefits of supporting stem cell research, and these benefits include saving the lives of people with critical diseases; “Stem cells are also helpful in potentially treating problems like repair or replace damaged organs, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer’s disease. If people get good treatment of such diseases, it will be beneficial for them as well as the society” (Joseph). This quote demonstrates many of the illnesses that stem cells can cure with the proper research. Many argue that stem cell research is unethical, however the possible outcomes say otherwise. Furthermore, these cells can also undergo the reproduction of more life saving cells on their own; “It is possible to grow embryonic stem cells for a year at the least in a few cases, particularly when well determined protocols are employed.

There are several new methods that have been developed since the start of the highly controversial stem cell debate which rectifies the major differences on both sides. New solutions such as Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) acts as an alternate method to embryonic research in that it uses cellular reprogramming of adult skin cells.“The benefit of iPS is that stem cells can be created without the use of embryos, however, the cells resemble embryos in that they can, theoretically and under the appropriate conditions, be made to differentiate into any type of cell found in the body ” (Phillips, 2010). . There are also techniques being developed that use amnionic fluid, or stem cell extraction techniques that do not damage the embryo, that also provide alternatives for obtaining viable stem cell lines ” (Phillips, 2010). The only caveat to all of these newly developed alternatives is that no solution has been studied long enough to claim that it can be an effective substitute 100%. “To begin with, demand for

The controversy about stem cell research is the concept that the research itself is “unethical” because it involves the development and usage, and possibly destruction of human embryos. This is not true for most methods of stem cell research. As stated

Stem cells were first discovered during an experiment with mice in 1981 ("Stem Cell Information"). Scientists extracted stem cells from embryonic mice, which led to the discovery of vitro-fertilization in 1998. Virto fertilization is used to conceive a child in a laboratory, for parents who cannot conceive naturally. The fertilized egg is then implanted inside a mother's uterus and a child begins to form. Without the discovery of stem cells, this process might not have been able to give parents the children they have always wanted ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do"). However, this is causing some controversy in today's society. Embryonic stem cells are obtained from embryos not placed inside a female. Researchers felt it could harm or even kill the undeveloped child, so they felt the only solution was to grow the fertilized eggs in laboratories. The embryos are grown in labs with consent from their donors. The stem cell obtained from these embryos are being used to benefit burn victims so they could grow healthy skin, people with spinal cord injuries so they could have the chance to walk again and even people with type I diabetes to help produce their own insulin. If these cells are able to be manipulated enough, there might even be a cure for cancer or any other heart breaking diseases wrecking havoc today (Mayo Clinic Staff). Stem cells are also

A Stem Cell is a similar cell to a multicellular organism. That organism has the ability make an infinite amount of the same type cells.

Stem cells are important for living organism in many ways. In a blastocyst the inner cells give the entire body of the organism, including cell types and organs such as the heart, lungs, and skin. In adult tissues such as brain, muscle, and bone marrow separated populations of stem cells generate and create replacements for cells that are lost or died through a tear, injury, and disease. Stem cell transplantation allows doctors to give large doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy to increase the chance of eliminating blood cancer in the marrow and then restoring normal blood cell production (Gknation

“The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia” (Thomson &Yu, 2006). As stated by Junying Yu and James A. Thomson, it is true that embryonic stem cells are very adaptable and hold many mysteries in medical science, but why are they so heavily debated upon? Embryonic stem cells, or pluripotent cells, are cells derived from embryos that have the potential to become any bodily cell. Research of these cells allows us to understand human development and how disorders or illnesses form as people grow older. The main controversy that surrounds

Stem cells have an extraordinary potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. They serve as a repair system by replenishing other cells in a human’s or animal’s organism. It divides without limit and is able to transform into another type of cell with a more specialized function which is missing in the body. Such cells can be a muscle cell, a brain cell, or a red blood cell. Stem cells are essential for many reasons. They give rise to the entire body of the organism, including many organs like eggs, heart, sperm, skin, lungs and etc. Stem cells also precipitate replacements for cells that are lost through injury, disease, normal wear, or tear in adult marrow, brain, and muscle. Stem cells, with their unique regenerative abilities, have great potential in treating many diseases including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and birth defects. Scientists use stem cells in their research to develop modal systems which help them to study normal growth of an organism and to determine the causes of birth defects. Authors in their book The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy write about the benefits of stem cells for those who suffer from different diseases, “Patients with stroke or spinal cord injuries could receive cell-based treatments that would restore central nervous system function, thereby enabling them to maintain functional independence” (page 3).