Stem Cell Research : A Hot Topic Among The Medical Science

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.

“How can the use of stem cells be so controversial?”, one may ask. If the stem cells are donated out of free will or were going to be destroyed anyway, how can putting them to better use be controversial? Sure, a potential life must be destroyed to save a life, but only before one can tell that it is a human. Should the use of stem cells for medical research and use be regulated? These questions and more will be discussed and pondered throughout this paper.

Throughout the course of history, healthcare advancements have been some of the most important events to happen to the human race. Whether it was the invention of the first stethoscope or the first vaccine for polio, these findings have helped lengthen and improve human life, as well as aid scientists in better understanding humans as a species. In recent years, embryonic stem cells have been discovered to offer a variety of benefits to many different diseases and disorders. However, despite their amazing potential, the source of these lifesaving cells have brought up the question of ethics and morals in the scientific and medical communities as well as mainstream media. Is stem cell research worth the dangers and moral controversies in

In the contemporary world of today, the issue of embryonic stem cell research is one of this controversial significant topic regarding which there is neither fair/moral agreement nor understandable, wide-ranging laws. As far as the ethical debate is concerned, it focuses on the verifiable piece of information that stem cell research consists of destroying the very early embryos of the human beings. The federal government has restricted the financial support for stem cell research to research that makes use of the stem cells obtained from a small amount of stem cell "lines" (Shapiro, 2006).

As modern medicine advances, new techniques such as regenerative medicine can be used to help aid in the treatment of diseases through the use of stem cells ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do" 1). The use of stem cells has been an ongoing debate between whether or not it is actually ethical to use embryonic stem cells, as well as if the embryo has any rights which should be protected. Since it is difficult to place a concrete definition on what exactly makes a person a person, this adds to the controversy surrounding stem cells. The central conflict that is faced when speaking about stem cells is whether or not using the research to help those suffering from diseases is worth using an embryo that possibly could have held life.

Stem cell research is extremely prevalent in today’s society, and on the other hand controversial. When thinking of stem cell research many questions, and challenges arise from it. Some problems that arise from the topic of stem cell research involves, religious beliefs, personal, and ethical beliefs. In the next few paragraphs the facts of stem cell research will be mentioned, and questions will be answered with factual evidence.

For decades, researchers’ use of stem cells has caused a controversy and the consideration of the ethics of research involving the development, usage, and destruction of human embryos. Most commonly, this controversy focuses on embryonic stem cells. Not all stem cell research involves the creation, usage and destruction of human embryos. For example, adult stem cells, amniotic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells do not involve creating, using or destroying human embryos and thus are minimally, if at all, controversial. Many less controversial sources of acquiring stem cells include using cells from the umbilical cord, breast milk, and bone marrow. (Brunt, 2012) In 1998, scientists discovered how to extract stem cells from human embryos. This discovery led to moral ethics questions concerning research involving embryo cells, such as what restrictions should be made on studies using these types of cells? At what point does one consider life to begin? Is it just to destroy an embryo cell if it has the potential to cure countless numbers of patients? Political leaders are debating how to regulate and fund research studies that involve the techniques used to remove the embryo cells. No clear consensus has emerged. Other recent discoveries may extinguish the need for embryonic stem cells. With this in mind, we will discover both sides of the issue from a pros and cons point of view. Stem cell research has expanded at an exponential rate, but its therapeutic

It is imperative that students who are planning to enter the medical field be well-informed about this issue so that they can begin to develop their own convictions about medical ethics, specifically regarding the stem cell debate. This report defines what stem cells, describes the different types of stem cell research and their potential role in disease therapy, and the presents the ethical controversy surrounding stem cell research.

While embryonic stem cell research has been ongoing for more than 30 years, it has only become a controversial topic over the past decade. The embryonic stem cell was first isolated in 1981 by two scientists at the University of Cambridge. However, it wasn’t until 1998 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where the first batch of embryonic stem cells were created in a test tube. In 2001, President George W. Bush approved the use of federal funding for research on this topic, following this action the stem cell controversy has been developing. The controversy around this topic focuses heavily on the ethical portion of stem cell research rather than the scientific evidence. Stem cell research has shown great promise for potentially

Many controversial and moral stricken issues have been put into question in today's modern society. Some of which include gay marriage, and abortion. Yet one of the most controversial has to be stem cell research. A Stem Cell is a "generic" cell that can make exact copies of itself indefinitely. It also has the ability to make specialized cells for various tissues in the body such as the heart muscle, brain and liver. But why exactly is stem cell research so controversial? Well mostly those who oppose embryonic stem cell research do so on the grounds that the cells die in the process. But what those people might not know is that an embryo is no bigger than a pinhead. And therefore there is no human suffering. Stem cell

Amniotic stem cells are found in the amniotic fluid around a child just before it is born (Mayo Clinic Staff). Amniotic stem cells are primarily used for organ regenerations because there is a very rare chance that they will cause an immune system attack. Embryonic stem cells make up an entire embryo as it is developing. Embryonic stem cells, also known as blastocysts, start forming into vital organs, such as the heart and lungs, before the embryo is even a week old ("Stem Cell Information"). Adult stem cells, called somatic stem cells, are found in anyone who is no longer a fetus. They could be found in children and fully grown adults. Adult stem cells, however, are limited to what they can produce. They can only maintain and repair the tissue they are For example, the stem cells in adults can only be found in bone marrow, blood cells and fat cells (Mayo Clinic Staff). Adult stem cells still have the potential to be useful for society. Researchers are trying to alter the genes inside of an adult stem cell to make it more adaptable like an embryonic cell ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do"). These stem cells are called induced pluripotent cells and they cannot be used for curing any diseases because when you change the genetic makeup of something, you cannot always get the predicted outcome, so further research must be

Stem cell research is changing the medical field and changing lives in the process. Many people don't even know waht stem cell research is or how it has changed peoples lives all around the world. Stem cells are a cell that can develop into many other types of cell during the growth or life of a organism. Almost all of the advance medical institue are researching stem cells and trying to advance it. Stem cells have helped many people one of the most recent stories is of a women who lost the ability to use her legs after a stroke. A team of a Stanford injected stem cells into her brain that allowed her to walk again. Stem cells have yet to reach their full potential but people are working hard to get them there.

Zubin Master and G. Crozier in “ The Ethics Of Moral Compromise For Stem Cell Research Policy” try to explain, and inform anyone that is interested in knowing more about the stem cell research, and the ethics involved in that subject. The main idea of this Journal Article is to analyze some of the scientific proposals of using stem cells, and which methods are more ethically corrects for the research. In the article, Zubin and Crozier talk about new techniques that can derive stem cells without having to destroy embryos. One of those techniques are to “use a non-human animal source of ova or ova created from the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells”(53), so the researchers can keep doing experiments without having to use humans embryos,

Stem cell research is surrounded by controversy, relating to the morality of the use of stem cells for medical procedures. This is often associated most strongly with embryonic stem cells, due to the fact that in order to harvest embryonic stem cells the formation of an embryo is necessary. Commonly it is argued that, since that embryo could have potentially became a human that it is unethical to destroy them for research. It is important to note that stem cell research in its very nature is unique from any other medical research, this is because stem cells are essentially blank slates of human cells, undifferentiated, meaning that these cells have potential to become

Improved technologies in science and health has led to the elongation of human life. Even with this progress, there are still illnesses and injuries that cannot be treated. The use of stem cells to treat patients is a relatively new, but promising, area of science. Although there are several types of stem cells, most people think of embryonic stem cells when discussing stem cell research. While this cell type has shown the most potential, it brings up ethical dilemmas. Negative opinions associated with stem cell research due to embryonic stem cells hinder prospective studies. Stem cell research offers potential therapies, but the procurement of embryos and the destruction of the embryo to isolate embryonic stem cells leads to problems with