Stem Cell Research Essay example

There are two different types of stem cells that are used in research: embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic “somatic” or “adult” stem cells, (NIH). Embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos and are usually obtained through the process of in vitro fertilization in a laboratory setting. According to Bevington, embryonic stem cells are left over from attempted fertilization in fertility clinics and are donated to research by the patient with consent, (Bevington 2005). What makes embryonic stem cell research unethical is that the human embryo is destroyed through the research process. Adult stem cells are found among differentiated cells in a tissue or organ. The purpose of adult stem cells is to

Stem cells are cells that can be changed into other cell types. There are positive and negative aspects to them. They can help and danger people’s lives. Stem cells have many properties and uses. There is a big debate on whether stem cells are good or bad. There are many different opinions but I will write about what I think on this subject.

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.

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

The President’s Council on Bioethics published “Monitoring Stem Cell Research” in 2004. This report was written in response to President Bush’s comments regarding research of human stem cells on August 9, 2001. President Bush announced that he was going to make federal funding available for research that involved existing lines of stem cells that came from embryos. He is the first president to provide any type of financial support for the research of human stem cells. A Council was created with people who are educated in the field of stem cells to help monitor the research and to recommend guidelines and consider the ethical consequences that this research could create. This report is an “update” given

Stem cells are used in treating different diseases because embryonic cells can form into the cell type needed, then those cells replace the ones that were damaged by the disease. They can be used in a bone marrow transplant.

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.

Stem cells are cells that are found throughout the human body. They reproduce over a long period of time without changing. Stem cells can produce specialized cells, such as brain, muscle or lung cells. Stem cells in the last few years have recently made a big debut because medical professionals have discovered so many unique qualities to stem cells. They are on the cutting edge of medicine because of all their uses and the qualities that make them so unique from any other cell in the body. Stem cells have the power to make so many breakthroughs in the medical world. Medical researchers have all ready found so many ways that stem cells can be used for the better of so many people. Genes play an important role in determining what genetic traits or mutations we receive. Researching stem cells can help determine this. Stem cell research is useful for learning many things about human development and about how the body has the power to repair itself. Researchers are finding new ways each day that stem cells can be used and the possibilities that they find for stem cells could be endless. A few ways they can be used to treat diseases, be used as graphs for burn victims or surgical use, and even to correct birth defects. The pros of stem cells are limitless.

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.

Stem cells are the new improvement in medical technology, researchers are making them using human embryos, also known as aborted fetuses. Stem cells are an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that is capable of giving rise to more cells of the same types, and from which certain other kinds of cells arise from differentiation. Arguments are always made that stem cells are not good ways to take care of people's health but it is faster than organ donation. More people are dying every day waiting for organs when stem cell is a faster way to take care of someone in need of an organ. The use of aborted fetuses for the creation and research of stem cells is not immoral.

There have been an argument about whether embryonic stem cell research should be used or not. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner mass of a human embryo. They are pluripotent which means they can grow into most cells. They can also become all cell types of the body. Embryonic stem cells have the capability of spreading themselves indefinitely in an undifferentiated state.

Stem cells have a plethora of side effects that over powers the benefits. The ability to differentiate is known as plasticity, and it is thought to only be at its greatest in embryonic stem cells. In order for the embryonic cells to be of use they must be fertilized, after which, the stem cell is removed, destroying the embryo. Stem cells can be used in adults; however it is believed through the consensus of the medical community that the plasticity of embryonic stem cells is not even closely matched by those of adult stem cells. The general idea is that “adult stem cells have a limited capacity to differentiate (Solter 8).” Adult stem cells are already stuck in their ways, which makes it useless, in a way. They can only reproduce the same cell type that they originate from. Thus, despite the prospecting medical leaps that this technology can provide, the process of how to obtain the embryonic stem cells overwhelms the benefits by far.

Another milestone in science has been reached: the discovery of stem cells in the 19th Century. Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009). According to the National Institutes of Health, embryonic stem cells derive from four to five day old embryos, also known as blastocyst, that have been fertilized in vitro and donated to research purposes with informed consent from the donors. Adult embryonic stem cells are found in differentiated cells in a tissue or organ. The main purpose of these cells is to repair the damaged tissue in which they are found. Since this discovery, there has been controversy over whether embryonic and adult stem cell research should be federally funded, and the ethics involved.

Stem cell research has been controversial since its development. Stem cell research has faced large opposition particularly from religious groups and churches and has been supported by various medical and research organisations. The major ethical concern over stem cell research is over the primary source of these stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from embryos or from less controversial sources such as bone marrow. Groups opposed to stem cell research are mostly concerned over the destruction of the embryo in embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells are obtained from human embryo’s which are in the blastocyst stage. Stem cells are typically obtained from four to five-day old human embryo’s which results

Have you ever wondered what stem cells are and why they are important? Have you heard that stem cells are controversial but do not know why? Scientists have been studying stem cells and their ability to regenerate tissues in the body for years. Having the body regenerate itself is not as crazy as it once sounded. Stem cells are very small, immature cells in the human body that are capable of becoming many types of cells. Researchers have been able to find different applications in treating the human body using these powerful cells as well as the ability to test new drugs on them. This is a huge advancement in medicine, but with it comes debate and controversy over the ethical aspect of obtaining these cells. Questions like, “is this life we are killing?” and “should we be messing with God’s work?” come up in the debate over the research of stem cells. We first need to understand that not all stem cells are the same and reevaluate our position once we are truly educated on the benefits of stem cells. Researchers must have the ability to continue studying stem cells in order to save human lives. Ethical issues aside, this may be the greatest advancement in medicine to date.