The Importance of Stem Cell Research Essay

Since their discovery in the 1980s, stem cells have been considered one of the most exciting concepts in the scientific community. Stem cells represented untold implications for medicine, and for the last three decades researchers have continued to explore the many opportunities stem cell research has to offer. Today, the future of stem cells is still bright, and scientists are closer than ever to successfully implementing their clinical applications. However, stem cell research remains a highly controversial topic that raises many questions regarding the constitution of personhood and the creation and destruction of human life. These ethical considerations have been a frequent and unfair obstacle to research efforts. Stem cell research is one of the most groundbreaking developments in modern science and medicine, and while the ethical implications must be addressed as the new era of regenerative medicine emerges, it would be a great injustice to allow these questions to impede research. Stem cells are the future of medicine, and the opportunities stem cell research represents must continue to be explored in the coming years.

Stem cell research has been quite a controversial topic since its origin in the 1960s by Gopal Das and Joseph Altman. Of course, anything that uses a human embryo would be. Stem cell research could open a vast number of new doors for modern science, it could let us test new drugs, one of which could be the unfound cure for AIDS or Alzheimer’s disease. However, this branch of science comes at a high price, the price of a human life that is only five to six days

Millions of people die every year from diseases and accidents; the nightly news is filled with reports about the devastating effects of cancer, horrific accidents, and disasters that leave people disfigured or paralyzed. Embryonic stem cell research is a part of biomedical science and has the potential to ease the suffering of sick people by curing diseases and defects, creating organs and tissue for patients needing transplants or skin grafts, regenerating axons in spinal cord injuries, and creating new treatments, drugs, and immunizations. However, America’s government does not support this research to an extent that would make a difference in medicine; only a few stem cell lines are authorized, and federal funding is minimal. The

Stem cell research is the future of medical and biological research and remedies, and it is fascinating to watch the progression of this new and important science as it unfolds. These cells were discovered in mouse embryos in the 1980s, and are remarkable because of their potential to grow into a variety of different kinds of cells within a body. Common in fetuses, and more rare in adult animals of all kinds, stem cells can be manipulated in useful ways to repair many tissues, dividing limitlessly for therapeutic purposes. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or to differentiate into more specialized tissue, such as nerve, pancreas, bone marrow, or unique blood components. Initially

IVF stands for invetro fertilization, which means that a woman’s eggs are placed in a Petri dish and fertilized with sperm. Then the embryo is examined and carefully watched for a few days to make sure that it is forming correctly. After waiting for examination process the embryo is inserted into the woman’s uterus. Large sums of these embryos are made because many times the IVF treatment is not successful, and then the woman can continue to try and have a successful pregnancy. However, when IVF is successful and the embryos are no longer needed the woman can choose to continue to have the embryos frozen or donate them to stem cell research. The majority of embryonic stem cells are donated stem cells from IVF donations according to biologist Sally Morgan. But, there is still that other percentage that comes from aborted babies. People may say that by allowing stem cell research it encourages abortion. The fetuses from aborted babies that are donated to embryonic research are helping find cures for the incurable diseases.

Even though many people are unsure about stem cell use, research shows that stem cells are able to help people. Around 50,000 adult stem cell transplants happen around the world each year (“Rethinking Stem Cells” ). Imagine a world with no sickness or no cancer but also if that means killing embryos. If research keeps happening, stem cells may have the answers to many questions for great

As stated previously, embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from embryos. According to the NIH, “Most embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro” (Stem Cell Basics).Vitro Fertilization is a technique that unites the sperm and egg in a laboratory instead of inside a female. These stem cells are then donated for research with the donors consent (Stem Cell Basics). According to Michael Zawada and Karen Kalumuck, these cells are usually donated by those who have extra embryos. Then the cells are put in a dish where they replicate. The embryonic stem cells are then analyzed after six months of growth to see if they have differentiated or stayed pluripotent. If the embryonic stem cells have not differentiated, they are referred to as a embryonic stem-cell line.

The first step towards embryonic stem cell research is obtaining the embryos. Currently, most embryos used in stem cell research are spare embryos from In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment (de Wert & Mummery, 2003). This is because using the embryos for research is a better option than discarding them as medical waste. Besides donating or destroying the embryos, couples can also opt to let other couples adopt the embryos or continue to store them, which can get expensive (Fischbach & Fischbach, 2004). Along with treating infertility, the embryos are used for researching potential therapies. While donating embryos to research avoids the wasting of embryos, there are concerns about the quality of spare embryos. Embryos with the highest chance of resulting in a pregnancy will be chosen for the IVF treatment, potentially leaving less durable embryos as spares (de Wert & Mummery, 2003). This leads to researchers preferring to generate new embryos and embryonic cell lines for their own studies. While using spare embryos to further our knowledge in health and science is approved of, knowingly creating an embryo with the intention of destroying it, even for research, is

Embryonic Research consists of manipulating embryos and stem cell to make medical discoveries, although this may sound wonderful many people consider it unethical. Genes and Embryos have become the subject of intense public discussions, as the achievements and medical discoveries in the categories of embryology and genetics not only increase our knowledge, but open up new possibilities to influence homosapiens in a certain novel way. Embryos play a major part in the scientific world. To create a normal stem cell line as a basis to go by, scientist begin with a fertilized embryo, the embryo is usually discarded from an in vitro fertilization clinic, or they can create a germ line by the use of therapeutic

People who decide to continue research on a project that can kill people are knowingly and willingly committing murder. Stem cell research has continued for thirty years with the knowledge of humans dying as a possibility. Although stem cells have the potential to cure diseases, the research should cease because the therapy causes the risk of cancer cells forming, allows the body to undergo great risks, and cause the spending of the government to increase immensely.

The society has evolved over the decades. Medical advances, greater technologies, better understanding of the world around us, the sky is the limit! The progression of a society is astounding from where it was just twenty years ago. One is able to do things that the forefathers would have never dreamed! Science has discovered ways to travel to the moon and back, reach some of the deepest depths of the oceans and discover new species, and drive hybrid cars. The achievements of today’s society have reached a new high; however, with great achievement comes great questions of ethics.

However there are three methods into using stem cell research. One method is Adult Stem Cells (ASC), which are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body after development. These cells multiply by cell division, to replace and repair other ones. A less popular stem cells that is still in testing is Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPS). Induced pluripotent stem cells “are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to be like an embryonic stem cell. Which are forced to express factors that are important for maintaining the properties of embryonic stem cells.” The process of IPS cells are showed in the image above from the person to the dish. Many scientist are wanting to do more research with these cells since they don’t use embryos. But the most popular and most effective is Embryonic Stem Cells (EPC). EPC comes from embryos. They remove the nucleus of the embryo and inject DNA from the adult cell into it. The egg begins dividing forming clumps of cells. After it forms a blastocyst the Stem cells are harvested and the embryo is destroyed. The process is also shown in the image above. Starting from a sperm to becoming ready in the dish for

When one thinks of fatal diseases, what comes to mind? Cancer? Organ failure? Brain damage? All of those things and more could be a thing of the past with the incredible potential of stem cell research. Stem cells are like blank cells that can take the form of other kinds of cells. This gives them the ability to heal damaged areas, or grow replacement tissue for tissue that has been diseased. Stem cells can come from several different places, some of which cause lots of controversy and ethical debate. Because of this, stem cell research is not federally funded by the United States government. But, stem cell research has tons of potential and should get more attention for the greater good of our future.

     Aside from just not having proven to be an effective means of curing sicknesses, embryonic stem cells are obtained from in vitro fertilized embryos as well as aborted embryos. The problem with in vitro fertilized embryos is the researchers have a tendencies to make too many of them, in mass amounts. Their resolution to this is to freeze the embryos, to slow the death process. So, essentially, these researchers create the living embryo, study it, freeze it, pull some cells from it, then let it die (Center for Bioethics and Culture).

Stem cell related diseases affect over 100 million americans (White). Right now, there are plenty of government funds for stem cell research, and if we continue on the same path as we are now, stem cell research should be successful; however, the ethics used for embryonic stem cell research are incomprehensibly horrific (Stem cell policy). If this continues to be funded, it could have answers to numerous major diseases, including why they are caused, prevention, and cures for the diseases. More scientific research, however, needs to go into more possible solutions, to find a more humane method of treating these diseases that pleases both sides of the stem cell research debate, for the solutions, now, are not very strong. Because stem