Essay On Cloning

A mother cannot remember her children’s names anymore because of Alzheimer’s diseases. A daughter will never be able to walk again because of a car accident that has made her paralyzed from the waist down. A husband will never be able to see his wife again because he has become blind. But maybe these people will be able to remember, walk or see again. Someday all of the diseases in the world may be curable through stem cell research. Stem cells are very unique because they have the ability to morph into any of the over 200 cells that make up the human body. For the past 50 years scientists have been trying to understand the true potential of stem cells. Nichols (2001) explained that, it was not until 1998 when scientist James Thomson of the university of Wisconsin isolated living stem cells from embryos using in-vitro fertilization (p.44). That was a major breakthrough in stem cell research. Scientists are now able to use embryonic stem cells to treat or cure diseases, but they are far from perfecting it to use on humans. The process of generating stem cells is done by the fertilizing of an egg through in vitro fertilization. If the embryo is healthy then it is divided and is multiplied several times. Then the embryo is destroyed and the stem cells are used. The ethical issues surrounding stem cell research have a major impact on continuing medical research. As humans we must rethink the ethical issues and focus more on the potential benefits of stem cell research.

The most controversial type of cloning is therapeutic cloning. The goal of this process is not to create cloned humans, but to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease. Stem cells are important to b...

Science can be described as the pursuit of innovation, advancement and opportunity. Stem cells have offered scientists and the world a new doorway to treat diseases and help millions. The major, significant discovery of stem cells is their ability to differentiate into any cell type which can help rebuild damaged organs. One thing for certain is that these cells brought huge controversies over their uses, how scientists should obtain them, and if the embryos should be used at all on the basis that they should be held on the same morals as humans. Although with these monumental issues at hand, researchers have not given up hope that one day these stem cells will be widely accepted and be used for the benefit of the people.

Biomedical engineering has become a growing field over the past couple years. The new advances and research that stem from biomedical engineers can solve problems that would have never have been able to be solved before. Engineers have been working on new technology that will utilize stem cells in order to save lives and treat diseases. The stem cells that are used for treatment are called embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are formed from five-day old human embryos that the embryos are essentially human beings ("In Stem-cell Research” Para. 3). The usage of such stem cells has caused controversy because pro-life advocates believe lives are being taken away which embryonic stem cell usage. Despite the viewpoints of pro-life advocates who consider embryos to be a life form, the usage of stem cells for medical and scientific reasons is absolutely ethical. The advantages of stem cell usage such as their ability to save a human life, outweighs the opposing viewpoints of partisans against embryo usage.

Travis, J. ?Tailoring Therapies: Cloned human embryo provides stem cells.? Science News 14 Feb. 2004: 99.

A topic of extended scientific and ethical debate in our society as of late has been the question of Stem Cell research. Going down this path could yield unprecedented medical leaps in treatment and prevention that medicine will be able to offer. Before I address the debate of whether or not Stem Cell research should be done, I want to first explain to my readers what stem cells are, how they come to be and what we can use them for.

Embryonic stem cells have a dark reputation that will never be lost. However, with the help of government funding and new technologies, hopefully the destruction of embryos will be a thing of the past. Instead, embryonic stem cells can be shown a new light, leading to the discovery of a stem cell that can be very effective and also completely moral. They can be looked at as the gateway to a form of medicine that will forever change the world.

Missing Appendix The Debate of Human Cloning Human cloning has become a hot topic for debate. As we progressed one step closer to successfully cloning and developing a human being, legislators and the general public have become more concerned about the ethical and moral implications of this procedure. The federal government has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement as to what policy to pass and enact. Thus, any current legislation on human cloning has been developed and enforced by individual states. The state of California is one of the few states in the United States that has a policy on human cloning.

Embryonic stem cell research is widely controversial in the scientific world. Issues on the ethics of Embryonic Stem (ES) cell research have created pandemonium in our society. The different views on this subject are well researched and supportive. The facts presented have the capability to support or possibly change the public’s perspective. This case study is based on facts and concerns that much of the research done on embryonic stem cells is derived from human embryos. This case study will provide others with a more in depth view of both sides of this great debate.

The idea of cloning a life form seemed like something read from a science fiction novel just ten years ago. Now, the theories, ideas and facts of cloning embryos have made cloning one of the most talked about social issues of our time. The researchers of this scientific breakthrough have made a lot of progress in recent years. Many have heard of Dolly, the cloned sheep, and that’s just the tip of the ice burg. This is undoubtedly the biggest and most recent breakthrough science has seen in some time.