Stem Cell Research : The Future Of Medicine Or Is It Too Immoral

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.

There are a lot of potential uses of stem cells, but there are obstacles that we need to go through first. Stem cells can be used to test new drugs that scientists make. We could generate healthy heart muscle cells with stem cells. Injected cells could repair things in the body by secreting growth factors. Before scientists start

When the topic of stem cell research, and/ or treatment, people generally automatically jump to the conclusion of embryonic stem cells, when in retrospect according to Eurostemcell.org, an organization based website that is dedicated to supplying the public with the latest news and information on stem cells. According to the article there a few different types of stem cells. The first type of stem cell is, embryonic. Embryonic stem cells are grown in a laboratory from embryos cells at an early stage. The second type of stem cell is tissue stem cells. Tissue stem cells are found in all different parts of the body. Lastly the third type of stem cell is, Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS), or 'reprogrammed' stem cells. IPSC are similar to embryonic stem cells but they are from adult specialized cells.

Firstly, what even are stem cells? Stem cells are cells that can turn into many different types of cells throughout your bedy. Think of it like a mother cell creating endless amounts of children. There are two kinds; pluripotent, ones that can turn into basically every cell in the body, and multipotent, ones that can only for a small number of cells.

Lastly, one of the main ethical issues discussed concerning stem cell research originates in the fact that embryonic stem cells have to be generated from embryos that are destroyed in the process. This means that stem cell research again raises the question of whether there are any ethical limits concerning the destruction of human embryos for research of therapeutic purposes, as well as the most fundamental question of the moral status of the human embryo. (Holm p. 10) If human embryos have any moral status we need a good explanation to destroy them, and the greater their moral status the more important or weighty the justification has to be. In the case of embryonic stem cell research, it is impossible to respect both moral principles. To

Stem cells are cells in the body that can become many other parts of the body. They are a very important part of the body and the way it functions. Stem cell research has been studied for many years but the findings have recently been applied to the real world. With the new discoveries from stem cells, clinical trials can be more accurate and cost effective. The stem cells can be reprogramed and sent to parts of the body to help repair cell damage in the body, giving them the name the black box of reprogramming. Stem cells can also be used to help cure cancers and other diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson. Some think that stem cell research is wrong and goes against their religious beliefs.

Stem cells can either be embryonic stem cells or somatic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can be obtained from the inner cell mass of the embryo, a process which often results in the killing of the embryo.

For years, scientists have been using stem cells to help cure diseases and research different illnesses that come from deformed cells. In recent years, however, a debate has risen over where we should get these stem cells from. Because of the way stem cells are helping sick individuals and furthering research, the use of stem cells shouldn’t be stopped. The sources from which stem cells are acquired, however, should be limited. While acquiring adult stem cells is completely safe and productive, using embryonic stem cells is unethical in the way they are acquired. For this reason, the use of adult stem cells should be allowed, but the use of embryonic stem cells should be banned.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stem cells are 1 "Cells with the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells." Stem cells are basically unspecialized cells that can, with proper physiologic or experimental conditions, become specialized cells. Specialized cells are usually called differentiated cells. These differentiated cells can then be used to repair damaged cells and eventually cure many diseases and disorders in humans. This could revolutionize the way society treats health issues. Instead of trying to destroy and sure a disease or disorder, doctors could simply grow new cells that would be able to repair or replace the damaged cells and tissue.

In conclusion, stem cells are the tremendous promise to understand and to cure a verity types of diseases. They represent the powerful hope to remove the misery for thousands of patients who deal daily with a debilitating disease. As any new therapy, stem cells have many obstacles. A lot of things that scientists should learn to overcome the technical obstacles. Only Knowledge is their weapon. Stem cells research remains one of the hottest ethical debate over nations. Stem cells require an honest and a pure answer that religious people have to say regarding when human life begins. Stem cells covered with political gamesmanship, where some government’s implications limit stem cells research. There are many questions remain without answers: Will

Stem cells have been used for over 73 medical conditions. They can help many different cancers, diabetes, and many other diseases. Therapies for diseases of the pancreas, liver, cornea, spinal cord, skin, bone, and heart have improved by using stem cells. These are the only parts of the body that their treatment has improved from stem cells so far. So far, no studies have shown that stem cells can prevent diseases.

Stem cells come from several origins in the body and are capable of surviving over long periods. They are most commonly; adult stem cells, human embryonic stem cells and induced

There are three types of stem cells that have been found. The first of which are embryonic stem cells, first discovered in 1988. (10) Human embryonic stems cells or ES cells are the most primitive type of stem cells and has the ability to generate into every type of cell in the body. (10) These stem cells are derived from early stage embryos called blastocysts that are around five to seven days old. (10) Embryos for stem cell research are donated with consent from patients who have completed IVF treatments and have surplus embryos. (10) These excess embryos would otherwise be discarded. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can divide into more stem cells or can give rise to all of the cell types that make up the body. (11) Due to this versatility, embryonic stem cells can be used to regenerate or repair diseased tissue and organs.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to renew themselves though cell division. Most importantly, they have the potential to become tissue or organ cells with special functions. Stem cells can be used to replace worn out or damaged tissues (“Stem Cell Basics”). Stem cells have been known of since the mid 1800s. Thompson, from the University of Wisconsin Madision, was the first scientist to isolate cells from the inner cell mass of early embryos and then develop embryonic stem cell lines in 1998. Later, in 1999, scientists discovered that adult tissues could also produce stem cells, though they weren’t quite the same as embryonic cells. Over the years stem cell research has really taken off (“History of Stem Cell Research”). There are two primary different kinds of stem cells; embryonic cells, called pluripotent, and somatic/ adult stem cells, called multipotent. Stem cells are imperative to all living beings. In a 3-5 day old human embryo, called a blastocyst;

Potential applications of therapies and treatment developed from embryonic stem cells include treatment or diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Adult stem cells have been used in trials to treat diseases with limited success and it is still being researched and developed for potential mainstream use if successful applications are discovered.