The Human Embryonic Stem Cells

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

To make the use of stem cells helpful to the patient they must come from that person. If not, there is a possibility of the stem cells being rejected. Currently, only adult stem cells have been transplanted into humans, with embryonic stem cells missing out. If a person stores their stem cells earlier in life, the usefulness of them would be extremely high later in life (Preserving Stem Cells). A stem cell is more advantageous at a younger age, thus why embryonic stem cells extraordinarily useful.

Embryonic stem cells are found in human blastocysts (Marcovitz 17). A blastocyst is a very young embryo (just a few days old) that contains around 200 undifferentiated stem cells (Marcovitz 17). German Zoologist Valentin Hacker coined the term “stem cell” after he discovered them in a blastocyst of a crustacean (Marcovitz 18). Embryonic stem cells were collected for the first time in 1988 by Dr. James Thomson of University of Wisconsin and by Dr. John Gearheart of Johns Hopkins (Panno 76). These stem cells are unspecialized; they do not perform a specific function like cells such as muscle and nerve do (“Stem Cells”). They are also pluripotent, meaning they have the ability to divide and become specialized cells (“Stem Cells”). This is why stem cells hold so

Over time, the use of human stem cells has proven to be monumental in research, particularly in the field of disease modeling and drug development for treatments of diseases. However, there are many barriers that come with using human stem cells, specifically embryonic stem cells (ESCs), mainly due to the fact that they must come from either

Embryonic stem cell research and use is a scientific advancement that could change medical history. There are two types of stem cell research, adult stem cells, and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells receive a very negative connotation in society, and there are many misconceptions about the process and the ethics of embryonic stem cell research. A large majority of society immediately assume that it is the use of aborted embryos because of the word embryonic, and adult stem cells are not as effective as embryonic. However, this is not the case. Embryonic stem cell research is in progress to help cure and reduce the effects of very fatal and harmful diseases that take many of societies precious lives. If research continues to

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are pluripotent and are obtained from the inner mass of a 4-5 day old human blastocyst that consists of approximately 100 cells (“Stem cell research,” 2009).

. Embryonic stem cells have been identified by scientist as a type of stem cell that can advance regenerative medicine. The potential of regenerative medicine ranges from allowing pancreatic cells to produce insulin for diabetics to reconnecting the nerves in severed spinal cords. However, the greatest potential embryonic stem cells presents are its ability to change into any of the more than 200 different cell types in the body. This ability to change into any cell type can produce cures for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or any of the other conditions that stem cell therapy might help therefore improving the lives of those who live with these

The creation of induced pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming has allowed for the circumvention of using embryonic stem cells while still leaving the cells with the ability to maintain pluripotency. Instead of ES cells which were originally derived from the epiblast of mouse embryos, IPS cells were generated from mouse embryonic fibroblasts. This eliminated both any ethical concerns for whether those cells were a living being or not and the need to destroy embryos at the blastocyst stage. An advantage of IPS cells is that they are derived from human somatic cells which makes them easy to acquire due to the possibility of using skin or blood cells. They can also be grown and differentiated individually for each person that the sample of somatic cells is taken from which eliminates the possibility of having any immune reaction and rejection to the differentiated cells during transplantation. These characteristics of IPS cells are important because they are what enables us to safely and accurately transform these affected cells from patients cells into neurons and confidently study them.

In addition to research, these types of stem cells are used to restore and repair damaged tissue in all kinds of diseases. Embryonic stem cells are so useful because they have pluripotency, which means that they can differentiate into any human cell type. The cell types that they are commonly induced in are brain, heart, liver and insulin pumping beta cells that are similar to the pancreas. Since these embryonic stem cells can be differentiated into so many types of cells, they are able to treat diseases like: Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and many more.

Embryonic stem cell research is a hot topic of debate in our modern age, as scientific development continues to push the boundaries of ethics. The debates lies in whether or not it is helping or hindering society, as the procedure involves the manipulation of a human embryo.

Even though some people find it unethical, using embryos for stem cell studies should be allowed. Embryonic stem cells are from the inside of cells in a human embryo. These cells are pluripotent, which means they can grow into all the types of the three germ layers, ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. Stem cells also have three properties, they can divide and replace themselves for a long amount of time, they are unspecialized, and they let specialized cells grow. Also unlike blood cells, muscle cells, and nerve cells stem cells can multiply or replicate themselves rapidly. A starting group of stem cells that grow for many months in a lab can stop millions of other cells. Stem cell research using embryos is essential because it can be used to

Human embryonic stem cells offer the promise of a new regenerative medicine in which damaged adult cells can be replaced with new cells. Research is needed to determine

Stem cells play a fundamental role during all stages of development and have the potential to study and treat disease (Spitalieri et al., 2016). Embryonic stem cells (ESC) are pluripotent cells that emerge from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst and can give rise to various cell types (Liang and Zhang, 2013). Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) have similar characteristics but are derived from adult differentiated somatic tissue (Liang and Zhang, 2013). This review will briefly compare ESC and iPSC in the context of cell therapy and disease modeling.

Human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells isolated from blastocysts, and are highly useful in studying human development (Itzkovitz-Eldor et al., 2000 p. 88). Although the National Institute of Health states that “it is not known if iPSCs and embryonic stem cells differ in clinically significant ways”, iPSCs are already being used to achieve the same results as ESCs in some applications without the use of embryos, removing the ethical concern associated with ESCs (National Institutes of Health, 2009). ESCs are capable of differentiating into all cell types, and can be used as a source of differentiated cells. In the report by Itskovitz-Eldor et al., they discuss the induced differentiation of ESCs in suspension into embryoid bodies, including the three embryonic germ layers. The authors state that “the ability to induce formation of human embryoid bodies that contain cells of neuronal, hematopoietic and cardiac origins will be useful in studying early human embryonic development” (Itzkovitz-Eldor et al., 2000 p. 88).

The interest in developing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as a regenerative medicine has been prospering due to its pluripotency and indefinite self-renewal capacity since first discovered in 19981,2. However, the method to harvest hESCs by destroying embryos raised ethical concerns and thus the progress of this therapeutics has been impeded for years. Alternative approach was not achieved until the discover of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by integrating a combination of transcriptional factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) to human fibroblasts through retroviral vectors3,4. The research of iPSCs has grew rapidly since then due to its avoidance of embryo utility as well as its capacity to encapsulate disease phenotype, which is ideal for cell-based disease modelling and drug screening1,4. Furthermore, autologous iPSCs give possibility to non-immunogenic transplantation and thus provide promise to patient-specific therapy1.