Stem Cell Research: History And Controversies

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 get their name from the fact that they are basic cells that other cells develop from. They are capable of developing into a wide range of cells. Stem cells could potentially be used to grow new cells to replace the cells that were destroyed or damaged by

Stem cells are defined as the population of cells within an organism that retains its ability to divide and differentiate into various cell types. Since the early 1980s, scientists have researched the use of stem cells in the treatment of various human diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The research has sparked a controversial debate worldwide due to the nature of stem cell research and the source of pluripotent stem cells used in research. Stem cell research is a necessity, despite the source of pluripotent stem cells, because the research has led to breakthrough information involving the treatment diseases and injuries and the use of stem cells to replace damaged cells.

Stem cells are cells which can essentially form into any type of cell that can be found in the body. There are various types of stem cells. These include embryonic, adult, genetically reprogrammed adult stem cells, and perinatal stem cells. The most versatile, as well as controversial, type of stem cells are embryonic stem cells. These cells are found in 3-5 day old embryos which are formed through in vitro fertilization ("Stem Cell Basics" 1). While scientists have been able to reprogram adult stem cells to act as if they were embryonic, there is yet to be any conclusive evidence as to how the use of the altered cells will affect humans ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do" 1). The use of stem cells is largely focused on regenerative medicine which takes advantage of the stem cells versatility to create and replace damaged tissues in

linked to their religious beliefs, had an impact on whether they found the use of embryonic stem cells acceptable. “Where do you draw the line between human being and embryo?” (Australia, Public).

Some people look to the non-fiction story written by Roald Dahl called “Genesis and Catastrophe” as justification that children are not born evil, but this should not be the case. In the story it tells the tale of Adolf Hitler, the future ruler of the German Nazi party in WWII and responsible for most of the appalling acts that took place during the holocaust. His mother, who had struggled with having children live past a couple years old. His father was a drunk and mother was a gentle, religious lady, causing some conflict in their relationship. When Adolf was born, he seemed like any other child, many thinking they are incapable of committing any crime, but this really should not be considered the case.

Those who are against embryonic stem cell research commonly bring up the point of the embryo being unconscious, so it should not be killed because of its inability of awareness. Those who do not support the research compare the state of being unconscious to being asleep. While a person sleeps, it would be unacceptable to do any harm to them, so people expect the same treatment to go to the unformed human as well. Though a fully developed human and a newly formed blastocyte are far from similar, many try to argue that by those enforcing the rights of humans while they are unconscious, then we should “exercise these capacities when they eventually become fully developed humans”(Key). The argument against this problem is that embryos will never gain consciousness, but humans will eventually regain it once they wake up. The difference is that a embryo never had the chance to become conscious.

Embryonic stem cell research can be easily defined. A stem is defined as something that is developed from. A cell is defined as a microscopic living organism. According to Dennis Hollinger, "Embryonic stem cell research uses from the embryo's inner cell mass that give rise to each of the human body's many different tissue types"(1). In our modern day society, stem cell research has become a controversial topic. Several people strongly oppose the idea of the research, but many are struggling for the continuance of the program. Embryonic stem cell research should be allowed to continue because it aids in the search of cures for diseases, offers an alternative to discarding unused embryos from in vitro fertilization, and is supported by the

In the year 1998, according to Courtney Farrell, when human stem cells were first successfully isolated the Clinton administration allowed federal funding of stem cell research. But that all changed in the 2000 presidential elections. In George W bush’s campaign he openly opposed embryonic stem cell research as he found it unethical, and many agreed with him. When he was elected as president he banned all federal funding of stem cell research, causing outrage in the science community (although, privately funded stem cell research remained legal after George Bush’s law was passed). Later on, bush did change his policy so that research could be federally funded, but only using already existing cell lines. This was a disappointment to both the science community and anti-stem cell groups because the existing cell lines were damaged and unreliable for the researchers and anti-stem cell groups feel that even cell lines that come from a destroyed embryo is a disgrace.

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;

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).

In the paragraph above a similarity is drawn between Jesus and Buddha. Many stout Christians would cringe at the correlation, however, when one takes a closer look at the two religions these icons represent, namely Buddhism and Christianity (and so too the mysticism within the two religions), and we delve into the history and influences of the two, we find that similarities and correlations between the two religions began to be perceived in 19th century, many parallels can be drawn between the two, and in many aspects they are almost mirror images of each other (Carmody & Carmody 1996: 304). Before we go into these aspects it is important to understand what mysticism is and ascertain a working description of it. A balanced and open-minded suggestion by Carmody and Carmody (1996: 10) is, “the direct experience of ultimate reality”, and they go on to clarify that “ultimate reality” can be

Stem cell research is studying and getting mammalian stem cells to develop into any type of cells that includes making up tissues and organs, and have potential to cure human disease. There are two types of stem cell: one is from certain adult tissues, and another is from embryos (Vestal). The most controversy is based on the embryonic stem (ES) cells because two reasons: most stem cell research use embryonic stem cell since researcher can better understand early human development and be used in regenerative medicine and replacement therapies (Ismail, Ayshe 1), but the embryo will be destroyed. Even though there are some negative results impacted with this research, this research can brings many great benefits to people, so we should support this research. There are some evidences which show that there are more and more people support this research recent years.

Stem cells research is one of the most powerful areas of medicine that is both researched and passionately argued. The web page of National Institute of Health (NIH) describes that stem cells are unspecialized cells that are capable of renewing themselves through cell division and they can also be induced to become tissue or organ-specific cells with special functions. Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. Many individuals believe that there are ethical concerns with stem cell research because they come from destruction of perfectly good embryo however stem cells can be used for cell-based therapies, heart

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.