Use of Stem Cell Research

Use of Stem Cell Research

The use of stem cells in modern scientific research is probably one of the most ethically daunting issues that we can come across today. The idea of destroying human life or creating human life just to use it as another natural resource can be an extremely difficult concept to handle. The only way I was able to make an informed decision about the issue was to research exactly what a stem cell was and where they came from. As the former president stated, “You should also know that stem cells can be derived from sources other than embryos – from adult cells, from umbilical cords that are discarded after babies are born, and from human placenta.”
Stem cells are very special because they are the only cell among any living organism that does not eventually stop reproducing. Stem cells offer a great deal of hope to medical advancement because of their ability to grow and become almost any kind of cell. This process is known as differentiation. A stem cell would be considered a less specialized cell because it doesn’t perform a specific function like blood or brain cells do. These special cells are sought after because they have the ability to grow into a specialized cell. Whether it is part of the brain, lungs, liver or heart, dead cells can be replaced by new, healthy stem cells and have a very good chance of making a complete recovery.
This gives us a very good understanding as to why people are so willing to go to certain lengths just to harvest these cells, but is it right. Essentially, it’s the destruction of human life to potentially preserve human life. This is when we must understand all the different locations that stem cells can be harvested from. There are 3 main sources that we can get stem cells from which are adult cells, cord cells and embryonic cells. We can extract adult stem cells from bone marrow and the peripheral system. It turns out that bone marrow is actually rich in stem cells but painful destruction of the marrow results from...

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