Stem Cell Research Should Be Used Only for Good

Stem Cell Research Should Be Used Only for Good

  • Submitted By: RebelChild
  • Date Submitted: 01/25/2009 2:31 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 1765
  • Page: 8
  • Views: 1

Stem cell research is a procedure that has been rapidly progressing through the years. Stem cells are cells with the capability to divide for indefinite periods in a culture and to give rise to specialized cells. Stem cells have two important characteristics: an unspecialized cell that replenishes itself through cell division and under special circumstances they can become induced with special functions. Scientists use two different types of stem cells from animals and humans which are: embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro. They are not fertilized from eggs inside a woman’s body. The embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are derived are typically a four or five day old blastocyst which is donated for research from an in vitro fertilization clinic. An adult stem cell is an undifferentiated cell found in the midst of differentiated cells in a tissue or organ. Adult stem cells can renew themselves and can differentiate to yield the major specialized cell types of the tissue or organ. Adult stem cells can be found in the brain, umbilical cord, placenta, bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscle, skin, and liver. Embryonic stem cells have the capability to develop into every type of tissue found in an adult. Adult stem cells however, are not as multitalented. Adult stem cells maintain and restore the tissue in which they are found. Research scientists have been studying embryonic stem cells for well over forty years now. Stem cell research is becoming the most promising and controversial research today. Stem cell research should only be conducted with the goal of finding a treatment for diseases. However, there are both negative and positive aspects to stem cell research.
Technology can bring about exhilarating and astonishing things but it can also at the same time bring about dreadful things. That is the circumstance we...

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