Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Stem cells are generally very early stage cells that have the ability to turn into other specialized types of cells. For example a stem cell can turn into liver cells, skin cells , nerve cells etc. These early stage cells can have differing abilities to turn into more specialised cells. There are generally 3 types of stem cells that are important embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and umbilical cord stem cells. Stem cells are significant for a number of reasons. These include things like potential therapeutic uses such as; cures for diabetes, brain diseases like Parkinson, and treatments for cancer or multiple sclerosis (MS). On a very basic level stem cells are interesting in trying to understand how such cells store information and then turn into other cells with very different properties is quite a fascinating topic. How a cell goes from type A to type B is part of discovering something about ourselves and the world we live in. Stem cell research may
also be useful for improvement of livestock or other animals
Adult stem cells are typically called multipotent cells like bone marrow cells that can produce a wide range of different blood cells. There are also some cell types in the body that have be, but there is continuing research into if it is possible to make multipotent cells into pluripotent types. Embryonic stem cells are 'harvested' or collected from the very early stages of a fertilized egg called a blastocyst. Adult stem cells are collected from a limited number of cell types in the body. Typically these are bone marrow cells or from very early stages of tissue development. Umbilical cord stem cells are collected from the cells of the unbiblical cord of a recently born baby. Some of these cells are slightly undeveloped and so can turn into other types of cells.
Some have argued that stem cell research be limited to adult stem cells obtained
from tissues such as bone marrow. They...