Stem Cell Research

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Recommended: Advantages and disadvantages of stem cell research

Stem cell research has caused a big ethical debate across the nation. The stem cell lines developed for stem cell research are established from embryos after fertilization. An embryo is then divided into individual cells to create a stem cell line. From the embryo, one cell is placed in a dish and nourished with substances that stimulate the cell to divide, then the resulting line will then continue to divide in a managed environment and if taken care of properly (Creating Stem Cells For Research). The stem cells created can then be used to replace damaged cells. The United States Congress should support stem cell research for helping cure diseases but not for the experimentation of human cloning.

Stem cells create many amazing opportunities and could be very life changing for many people. Many researchers are looking to stem cells for cures to many medical conditions - including type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, and heart disease. One day, stem cells may be able to halt the progress of such diseases (Brownlee).

Stem cells have two characteristics that other cells do not posses. For one, the stem cells have not committed themselves to being any one cell type, and another is that the stem cells can multiply, sometimes indefinitely, and they maintain the blank slate property and can adapt to any cell type (Brownlee). Although stem cells are uncommitted, researchers say that some cells have fewer options than others. For example, liver can only be a brand of liver and so on. However, in response to chemical messages, the body's native stem cells differentiate by themselves. Even with this possible restriction, the stem cells essential nature - their ability to transform into more than one of the body's 300 cell...

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...cells.nih.gov/info/ethics.asp>.

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Stem Cells: What is Legal?. 2002. Web. 1 September 2011. .

Streiffer, Robert. "INFORMED CONSENT and FEDERAL FUNDING for STEM CELL RESEARCH." Hastings Center Report 38.3 (2008): 40-47. Health Source - Consumer Edition. EBSCO. Web. 3 Oct. 2011.

Svoboda, Elizabeth. "THE ESSENTIAL Guide to Stem Cells." Popular Science 274.6 (2009): 60-66. Health Source - Consumer Edition. EBSCO. Web. 8 Sept. 2011.

"Testing science." Economist 397.8712 (2010): 102. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 7 Sept. 2011.

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