For years, scientists and doctors have been looking for ways to prolong human life. Medicine has evolved over the years; surgeries have become less invasive and treatments have become more effective for diseases such as Smallpox, Malaria, and Measles all of which have been nearly eradicated. Recently, scientists are confident they have found a way to provide an effective treatment for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's. Additionally, they believe they have found a way to reverse the effects of paralysis caused by serious injuries. For this essay, stem cells can be defined as undifferentiated cells in the human body that can transform into any type of cell. There are two types of stem cells that have been researched by scientists, adult stem cells, …show more content…
Adult stem cells are found in humans that have fully developed, they can be found in adults as well as children, when adult stem cells are extracted they do not cause any real harm. Embryonic stem cells are cells that are derived from human embryos. Extracting embryonic stem cells, however, kills the embryo, for this reason, embryonic stem cell research has become controversial. Although embryonic stem cell research has been a topic of controversy, it is important to examine the benefits that stem cell research could have for medicine. Embryonic stem cells research should be accepted by pro-life activist and religious affiliates because it can provide extensive knowledge about the human body, provide a better alternative to current treatment, and allow scientist to understand more about incurable diseases.
For several years, scientists have been looking into the potential benefits that embryonic stem cells could offer. They believe that embryonic stem cells could provide an effective treatment for terminal diseases and provide knowledge about the human body during its developmental stages. It is important
These cells come from fetuses which is why stem cells are such a controversial issue. In order to actually use embryonic cells, they must be harvested from an unborn baby that is in the early stages of life. Embryonic cells have the ability to be all 220 types of tissues in the human body. “This makes them ideal for regenerating diseased heart tissue, repairing spinal cords, and replenishing brain cells”, Elizabeth Svoboda, an author in the publicized Popular Science magazine, illustrates in her article about stem cells (60). Embryonic cells have limitless possibilities in medical advancement. These cells can become whatever type of cell a doctor program them to be. With the use of embryonic stem cells, doctors can cure several diseases, as well as curing people who have suffered injuries, but research is being slowed down by the ethical dilemma of aborting a
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.
Although many people argue that the usage of embryonic stem cells is immoral, they are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells (nih.gov 2009). While stem cells are not taken from an embryo and are
Stem cell derivatives may be a beneficial source of transplantable cells that may be able to repair and regenerate certain tissues. If this could be accomplished, the medical benefits would be enormous, such as helping Parkinson disease, MS, diabetes, and muscular dystrophies. Although, this could be an extremely important advancement in the field of medicine, there exist many ethical and religious issues that look down upon destroying embryos for research. The stem cells that are focused on in this report are embryonic stem cells. However, adult stem cells may also be used to give rise to lineages of cells that are more specialized than themselves. They are more differentiated than embryonic stem cells. Research using adult stem cells is much less controversial since they can be obtained without destroying an embryo. There is also a strong political aspect that has been brought up in recent discussions regarding groups who try to push adult stem cell research over embryonic stem cell research since they consider it a more permissible option. In contrast, people in favor of embryonic stem cell research try to discredit the potential of adult stem cell studies.
We know that many have made expansive claims for the benefits of human embryo research. However, all such claims are conjectural. Embryonic stem cell research has not helped a single human patient or demonstrated any therapeutic benefit. At the same time, adult stem cells have helped hundreds of thousands of patients and new
"Embryonic stem cells are special because they are the only cells that can make all parts of the body,” said Douglas Melton, in an interactive videoconference available at athome.harvard.edu. The conference was hosted in New York and broadcasted to Cambridge, Washington D.C., and Naples, Florida on March 2, 2004. "Embryonic stem cells can do everything. So if you want to work on replenishing tissues, that’s where you go."
Embryonic stem cell is one of the most controversial, widely discussed medical issues in the United States today. The medical use of stem cell raises difficult moral and political questions. To understand about embryonic stem cell. I thought we should discuss what embryonic stem cells are. According to Scientific American; June 2004, embryonic stem are derived from the portion of a very early stage embryo that would eventually give rise to an entire body. Because embryonic stem cells originate in this primordial stage, or having existed from the beginning. They retain the pluripotent the ability to form any cell type in the body. To cell line create an embryonic stem cell, scientist remove the inner cell mass from a blastocyst created in
Recently in the scientific world, the field of embryonic stem cell research has become a popular topic and has been the subject for many heated debates. Experts in the field of stem cell research promise that this will be the future of medicine; that stem cells will be the cure to all the debilitating diseases and afflictions of today, such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, cancer and nerve damage. The truth about embryonic stem cell research is that it is not as hopeful and as revolutionary as it seems. Many problems that will negate the use of stem cells will and have already begun to arise, especially in areas concerning health risks to the patient, opportunity costs and human rights (Condic 803). Taking into account all the
The 70's focused on research that involved fetuses in utero. The 80's shifted to research of transplantation of fetal tissue into adults with serious medical conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's, and spinal cord injuries. The latest saga involves using cells from days-old "spare" embryos that are created in infertility treatment process and all are considered unethical and unmoral issues.
In 1981, Scientists found a way to extract embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos. Years later, in 1998, a method to extract stem cells from human embryos and grow the cells in the laboratory was discovered. The main purpose was to use the cell's ability to regenerative as a method of treating diseases. As time went by, people started to oppose the idea of using embryonic stem cell for research. So, funding that helped continue research on embryos started to decrease. This conclusion came from some people considering that embryonic stem cells research was similar to killing babies. Others thought that research on adult stem cells was less controversial than research on embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cell research leads to the
When a patient is faced with a terminal illness or is told that they will never walk again, it may be difficult to find hope of any kind. Stem Cells provide a faint glimmer of hope, with all the amazing things they, in theory, are able to do and cure. What kind of stem cells are we talking about though? Embryonic, Adult, or Cord Blood? All these possess the ability to replicate themselves as well as become any type of cell (Harvard Gazette). As with any incredible feat there is more often than not a “catch.” Many questions arise when we think about the sacrifices, risks and benefits. It is a matter of where we owe our obligations, to the embryo or to the thousands of people who are suffering and dying with incurable diseases. A diverse
Researches are continuously looking for ways to cure and treat all kinds of diseases, so why are there limits being put on the kinds of treatments that can be used to treat or cure a disease? Embryonic Stem Cells can be used to treat many different diseases, but some people have their opinion that using these stem cells in medicine is unethical because they are coming from a human embryo. There are countries that have banned the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine, and in America there are people arguing that it should be banned here. But what about all of the lives these stem cells are saving, what if research continues and these embryonic stem cells end up being a cure to a disease? With this in mind, human embryonic stem cells
The society has evolved over the decades. Medical advances, greater technologies, better understanding of the world around us, the sky is the limit! The progression of a society is astounding from where it was just twenty years ago. One is able to do things that the forefathers would have never dreamed! Science has discovered ways to travel to the moon and back, reach some of the deepest depths of the oceans and discover new species, and drive hybrid cars. The achievements of today’s society have reached a new high; however, with great achievement comes great questions of ethics.
Embryonic stem cell research is a highly controversial topic in today's society, this kind of stem cell commits to regenerate any type of tissue. Unfortunately, Embryonic Stem Cell Research has a dark side. To obtain these cells will kill the embryo automatically. In other words, the acquirement of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell includes performing an abortion. To obtain these cells, it would kill the embryo. This has created controversy since abortion is such a divisive topic. Politicians are uneasy to take sides. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell issue is today's Pandora's Box due to all the unwittingly chaos that it can bring to our lives. By having this new option available in the medical world,
Stem cell research generates important and unique opportunities offered in the medical community to create major scientific advances. Adult and embryonic stem cells have the potential to treat and cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, stroke, burns, heart disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle damage, diabetes, and some cancers (Stem Cell Basics: Introduction). In 2001, 3,000 Americans were killed every day by these diseases according to Shane Ham (Human Embryo Experimentation 67). Laboratory’s studying stem cells scientist gain information about the cells essential properties and what makes them different from specialized cells (Stem Cell Basics: Introduction). These stem cells are different than specialized cells because embryonic stem cells could possibly help create replacement cells. The replacement cells are created to replace many different kinds of tissues and organs, like the heart, liver, and pancreas (Brown). Adult stem cells treat leukemia, heart