Stem Cells And The Human Body

Many of us have all heard the saying that a “lizard can lose its tail,” and bizarrely enough it will grow back. This was always considered impossible for humans, an idea belonging in the realm of science fiction, but now the regeneration of tissue is an extremely realistic possibility. Despite some opinions, this process does not happen naturally, or take place as cinematically as one might imagine. Over the past decade, there have been major advances in regenerative medicine, commonly known as stem cell research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells within the body that have the capability to specialize into any tissue. They are most commonly found in cord blood, bone marrow, organ donations, placenta, and embryos . Stem cells are seen by some as a new miracle treatment, encouraging many countries to invest in their research.

Stem cells are the master cells of our bodies. They are the cells that build and repair our tissues, organs, and immune system in our body. The National Stem Cell Foundation says that all stem cells have three general properties. First, they are capable of renewing and dividing

One of the most heated political battles in the United States in recent years has been over the morality of embryonic stem cell research. The embryonic stem cell debate has polarized the country into those who argue that such research holds promises of ending a great deal of human suffering and others who condemn such research as involving the abortion of a potential human life. If any answer to the ethical debate surrounding this particular aspect of stem cell research exists, it is a hazy one at best. The question facing many scientists and policymakers involved in embryonic stem cell research is, which is more valuable – the life of a human suffering from a potentially fatal illness or injury, or the life of human at one week of

Research into embryonic stem cells holds a lot of promise thanks to its recognized potential to treat a wide range of conditions such as physical trauma, degenerative conditions, and genetic diseases. However, human embryonic stem cell research is a controversial issue for many as the creation of embryonic stem cell line requires the destruction of a human embryo. This ethical dilemma has resulted in research being held back as the debate rages on rather it’s right to use embryos in research. Despite this, embryonic stem cell research should be allowed to continue because of its potential.

Embryonic stem cell research is widely controversial in the scientific world. Issues on the ethics of Embryonic Stem (ES) cell research have created pandemonium in our society. The different views on this subject are well researched and supportive. The facts presented have the capability to support or possibly change the public’s perspective. This case study is based on facts and concerns that much of the research done on embryonic stem cells is derived from human embryos. This case study will provide others with a more in depth view of both sides of this great debate.

The society is not at an agreeable point when it comes to the research of stem cells obtained from human embryos. The disagreement narrows down to a clash between the two fundamental principles of ethics: The duty to prevent and alleviate suffering, and the duty to respect the value of human life. In most situations, both principles can be satisfied. However, in the research of embryonic stem cells, it might not be inherently possible.

Embryonic stem cell research is the study of stem cells derived from the undifferentiated inner mass cells of a human embryo. For many years now, the ethics of embryonic stem cell research has been argued. A recent advance in this line of research is the ability to clone the embryonic stem cells, which allows for researchers to create a completely compatible embryonic stem cell to the individual’s tissue type. Though this new science may be very beneficial, not everyone can agree on the ethics of it. While the National Bioethics Advisory Commission approves of stem cell research via in vitro fertilization, they are strongly opposed of the cloning of embryos, which is expressed in Volume I Report and Recommendations of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, “Issues in Human Stem Cell Research". On the other hand, Dr. Katrien Devolder, the writer of the article, “Creating and sacrificing embryos for stem cells” is devout to the advocacy of embryonic stem cell research which includes the use and derivation of stem cells from spare in vitro fertilization embryos as well as the creation of embryos for these purposes. Embryonic stem cell research has accomplished so much for for medicine, it would be a shame to not continue it because of opposing views that could easily come to a mutual consensus.

While stem cell research holds the potential to contribute to the development of many cures and treatments. Human embryonic stem cell research is ethically controversial because it involves the destruction of an embryo after stem cells are extracted. The destruction of the embryo brings up the complicated dilemma of whether the destruction of the embryo is unethical, as it involves the issue of whether the embryo has the right to its life. The basic argument is that an embryo is a potential fetus and is an innocent human being (Lernser, 2013). To some opponents of stem cell research, the destruction of an embryo means that a potential fetus and ultimately a potential human being were killed; therefore, this act and the research effort behind

“If a life is lost, we tend to feel differently about it depending on the stage of the lost life” (Embryonic Stem Cell Research: an Ethical Dilemma). A fertilized egg that has not reached or has not been implanted in the uterus does not necessarily define that it has life. To be more precise if an embryo certifies to have moral status, then we must look through the stages of development before the life's birthed. It takes six days for an embryo to reach the uterus for implantation. In after fourteen days the start of the nervous system will then develop. Following this stage would be the phase of which the body becomes premature and then birth. According to Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, believed that life did not start after three stages. He defined those stages as vegetative, animated, and intellectual. People started to believe with Aristotle that life of a human being did not begun till after these three stages. This belief concluded for many that “ an embryo did not become human until after birth, and this idea has influenced public perception and dialogue ever since” (Panno). One can argue that if it is not a fact when an embryo is considered a human then why eliminate their chances from having the potential to become one? Blastocysts, from where the embryonic stem cells are derived from, contains a high failure rate of 75 % in which it can be lost through the process of implantation by natural causes. About “more than half of fertilized eggs are lost due to natural causes” (Panno) and so it should not be agonized in the fact that early embryos are used for research. As for embryos that have reach the womb, implanted in the uterus for fertilization, fourteen days or conception, then and there applies the issue when the embryo contains of human characteristics. As blastocysts, embryos do not really have the status of anything as a part of someone’s body, when it has reached

The act of removing an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus raises major issues. From these aborted children, embryonic stem cells or ESC’s, can be withdrawn out of the embryo and planted into adults. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage preimplantation embryo. Isolating the embryoblast results in destruction of the blastocyst, this raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the preimplantation stage should be considered to have the same moral or legal status as more developed human beings. We have to discuss and decide on some of the obstacles which must be overcome before large scale clinical trials can be considered and whether

A stem cell is not ready to be a cell, but it has the ability to become different types of cells throughout the human body. There are two types of stem cells: adult stems cells and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are produced when a newly fertilized egg begins to divide. These stem cells can become any type of cell in the body. (American Medical Association) Adult stem cells – somewhat of an inaccurate name, because they can also be found in infants and children. These are stem cells that reside in already developed tissue. Also these stem cells can act like a repair system and help the human body, dividing regularly into different cells to provide new specialized cells to take the place of those that have died or are lost. Tissues where adult stem cells can be been found include the brain, blood, muscle, skin and bone. Research with adult stem cells has been limited due to the difficulty in growing and differentiating them under laboratory conditions. (American Medical Association)

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, or HES cell research, is a very controversial ethical debate. This issues is a dilemma for scientist, religious activist, and many more. HES cell research is being disputed because the practice is morally wrong. The other side of the issue stands with many scientist, being that they see the potential lives it could save in the long run. Religious activist, and many other pro-life leaders stand by the fact of how the scientist obtain the embryonic stem cells is wrong and unethical. To understand this issue we first need to understand what stem cells are. “Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have not yet decided what type of adult cell they are going to be”(What Are). There are different types of cells, including, Adult Stem Cells (ASC), Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC) and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSC).

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells in a multicellular organism that have the potential to develop into any cell type during early life and growth. They differ from other cells by two important characteristics. First, stem cells can renew themselves through cell division. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be persuaded to become tissue or organ-specific cells

Stem cells are specialized cells that can develop into several different cell types in the body during its early life and development. Not only that, stem cells can recover any damaged cells. They have the ability of replenishing a cell by dividing without a limit as long as the patient is alive. When the cell divides, the new cells can either remain a stem cell or become a different type of cell that has a specialized function.

The opponents of embryonic stem cells stick to the belief that destroying one human’s life to save and cure others is not worth it because it makes you wonder, where will the line be drawn? Can the killing and experimentation of homeless people, for example, be justified by the possibility of saving a few Alzheimer’s patients’ lives? Will the world allow the destruction of the elderly just to save the younger generation? The opponents of embryonic stem cells realize that if the world begins using embryonic stem cells to make everyone healthier, than there is no telling what the world is willing to sacrifice in order for them to survive and if the world does go down that path, who gets to decide who deserves to live or die? (“Using Embryos is Immoral”). The destructive view that the world has towards embryonic stem cells is made evident not only by the ongoing debate about whether or not embryonic stem cells should be used but also by the restriction placed on embryonic