Curing the Incurable

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Recommended: Ethical theories and delimas regarding embryonic stem cell

In the field of medicine, a growing controversy is the use of stem cells to better understand and treat diseases. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to become any type of specialized cell and also divide limitlessly (“Stem Cell Information”). Stem cells can be used to grow tissue to help patients who have burns so they can heal faster and better (“Stem Cell Information”). Another major example is that these stem cells can be used to grow complete organs (“Stem Cell Information”). There are two types of stem cells that scientists and researchers work with, adult stem cells and human embryonic stem cells (“Stem Cell Information”). Embryonic stem cells can become any cell type of the body, while adult stem cells can only become the cell type of their tissue origin (“Stem Cell Information”). Another reason why these stem cells are very important is because they can even be used to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and even cancer (“Stem Cell Information”). There are many advantages and disadvantages of using embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. At the same time, the ethical issues that embryonic stem cells raise are extremely important. In order to cure diseases that are affecting hundreds of thousands of people, the people that do not support stem cell research need to look past the ethics so scientists and researchers can conduct embryonic stem cell research to find a cure for these diseases. One of the main ethical issues that seems to concern everyone is the question of whether an embryo is considered a person or not. Various religious groups are against the extraction of embryonic stem cells from human embryos. This is due to their belief that life is sacred from the moment of concepti... ... middle of paper ... ...rcures.org/article.php?uid=1000>. McLaren, Anne. "A Scientist’s View of the Ethics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research." Cell Stem Cell (2007): 23-26. ScienceDirect. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. . "Myths and Misconceptions About Stem Cell Research." California's Stem Cell Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. "Religious Views on Stem Cell Research." PBS. PBS, 27 July 2001. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. "Reprogramming and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)." Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. . "Stem Cell Information." Research Ethics and Stem Cells [Stem Cell Information]. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "What Are Human Embryonic Stem Cells Used For?" EuroStemCell. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .

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