AKH- Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Should scientists continue to use the cells of embryos to make medical advancements?
Embryonic stem cells are the cells in an embryo (a human at its earliest stages of development) that will essentially develop into every cell, organ, and tissue in the body. Because of their pluripotency--the ability to develop into any cell or tissue in the body--theses are the cells most often used in research and are believed to have the potential to treat many diseases, injuries, and possibly even generate entire human organs, which could help the thousands of people that wait for organ transplants everyday. However, any treatment using embryonic stem cells is not quite imminent, but many years into the future ("Stem Cells, Embryonic" 1). In 1981, two different research groups were able to isolate embryonic stem cells from mice. By 1997, researchers were able to pull stem cells from human embryos. Researcher Dr. James Thomson and his team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin were the first to discover a method for isolation and growing human embryonic stem cells ("Stem Cells, Embryonic" 2). Researchers who work with embryonic stem cells generally obtain frozen embryos left over from clinic procedures. These cells are then placed in a culture dish that contains nutrients. In the culture dish, the cells grow and multiply many times. After a few months, thirty original cells may have divided into millions of embryonic stem cells ("Stem Cells, Embryonic" 2).
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In Favor of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
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Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research
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Embryonic stem cells have several possible uses. For example, scientists would like to be able to grow cells that produce dopamine for patients with Parkinson's disease (a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, caused by a lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine). They would also like to be able to grow pancreatic cells that produce the hormone insulin for people with diabetes, which is a disease in which the body cannot make or properly use insulin. Researchers also believe that it is possible to grow nerve cells those damaged in people with spinal cord injuries, and to grow new heart muscle tissues to replace tissue to replace tissue that is damaged during a heart attack. Many pro-lifers insist that conducting this type of research is the murder of an unborn child. The embryos that are being used to do this research would normally be destroyed. In 2006, researchers grew stem cells from a single cell taken from an embryo without destroying it, and are working to perfect the technique ("Stem Cells, Embryonic" 1-2). According to the article, "Stem Cells, Embryonic," "In other countries, stem cell research is not only accepted, it is encouraged. In the United Kingdom and Singapore, the governments have invested a great deal of money in stem cell research. One study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Stanford University found that scientists in other countries were beginning to outpace the United States in embryonic stem cell research" ("Stem Cells, Embryonic" 3). People against embryonic stem cell research insist that adult stem cells are less "sacrificial" and even better than that of embryonic stem cells. Although adult stem cells can replace damaged or malfunctioning cells, their ability to differentiate is more limited than that of embryonic stem cells.
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The pros and cons of embryonic stem cell research is a very debated issue among scientific researchers, religious groups, moral activist groups as well as governments. This is because it is a relatively new science that holds a lot of potential, but also has the potential to do harm. Critics of embryonic stem cell research say that destroying embryos is murder, regardless of its scientific potential. This is because removing the stem cells from the blastocysts almost indefinitely destroys it ("Stem Cells, Embryonic"2-3). Some believe that life begins at conception, therefore the stem cells used for research should have a legal treatment and a status of human beings (OccupyTheory, 3). Because of personal beliefs, most people will not approve of the use of public money to destroy human embryos in any type of medical research, no matter the scientific and/or medical potential. Another downside to treatment using embryonic stem cells is that it will require the use of drugs, which is lifelong so as to prevent rejection of the stem cells. Many people are wary of this type of research because embryonic stem cells have not actually been proven to be successful in treating humans, but adult stem cells have been and remain the only type of stem cell used successfully to treat human patients, and although embryonic stem cells have a lot of good potential, the potential to do harm is what is focused on.
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Although there are risks to embryonic research, researchers and scientists should continue to work with human embryos to make medical advancements and help millions of people with diseases that could potentially be cured by these stem cells.