Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Embryonic stem cells research

Stem cell research could be one of the biggest breakthroughs in medical history. Stem cell research has shown a great promise and advance in its technique since 1998 when human stem cells were isolated for the first time. Since then research on stem cells has received much public attention both because of their extraordinary potential in curing devastating diseases and because of relevant legal and ethical issues. Research in human developmental biology has led to the discovery of human stem cells. Two major stem cells research are embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Recently, techniques have been developed for the in vitro culture of stem cells, providing unprecedented opportunities for studying and understanding human embryology. The understanding of the science is particularly important for discussing ethical and policy issues. I'm going to discuss technical details about embryonic stem cells. Then, I'll discuss their advantages and disadvantages of embryonic stem cells. Finally, I'll discuss the debate concerning with the stem cells research.

Stem cells come from human embryos created in the laboratory- usually through in-vitro fertilization. Scientists inject the sperm into the egg. A day after the egg is fertilized, it splits into a two-celled embryo. The next day, it splits into four cells, then into eight cells. By the fourth or fifth day after fertilization, the embryo is a multi-celled ball called a blastocyst. At this point, the embryo is very tiny about the size of the dot on an "i". It can either be implanted into a woman's womb to start a pregnancy, or it can be frozen to start a pregnancy at a later time. It can also be used for research. (CNN, David Muhlhausen)

If the embryo is used for research, scientists remove stem cells from inside the blastocyst, which destroys the embryo. The stem cells are cultivated in the lab and can multiply indefinitely. Scientists treat the cells to coax them into developing into different types of tissue--muscle cells, nerve cells, etc. there are three types of stem cells. They are noncloned stem cells, adult stem cells and vitro dedifferentiated stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are only found in human embryo at the earliest stage of life. Adult stem cells can be found in almost any part of the human body, including skin, fat, bone marrow, and a newborn's cord blood or placenta. (CNN, David Muhlhausen) According to "Commentary on human cloning" by James A. Byrne and John B. Gurdon, noncloned stem cells can be obtained from fertilized embryos. This technique doesn't have ethical issue because this procedure is acceptable for those who oppose embryonic stem cells. However, the problem with embryonic stem cells derived from noncloned embryos is that they would not be genetically identical to a patient and would require strong immunosuppressive drugs with their subsequent cost, inconvenience, and side effects. Because of many side effects and disadvantages of this procedure, it is the least useful technique.

Another procedure called adult stem cells, can be derived from bone marrow of a mature human, does not involve the destruction of human embryos. The advantage of adult stem cells is that it doesn't need to destroy embryo, it collects the stem cells which then grow into these parts. Adult stem cells have been successfully used on human persons to treat over 70 conditions, including brain and many other cancers, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell anemia, stroke, limb gangrene, corneal regeneration, heart damage, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury.( William C. Rader, page 1 ).

However the problem is that it is not as effective as embryonic stem cells because there are harder to isolate and there is a greater limit on what these cells can differentiate into. The benefit to embryonic stem cells is that this also ensures that whatever is implanted into the human won't be rejected because they are genetically identical. For example, a patient, who has some kind of disease, needs a specific tissue that can only be derived from embryonic stem cells. Even though embryonic stem cells kill embryo which will become human, it depends on your definition of when life really begins. The benefits from embryonic stem cell could have in saving your mom, your father or even your child, could sometimes be more beneficial. These embryos, depending on what stage they are in, somewhat should be protected.

Another procedure called "vitro dedifferentiated stem cells", can be obtained stem cells by directly dedifferentiating normal body cells in vitro. Even though it is the best technique, researchers are still research on vitro dedifferentiated stem cells. It can be used to cure diseases in the future. With current technology, vitro fertilization stem cells are theoretically possible to genetically engineer our children. (James A. Byrne & John B. Gurdon, page 156)

Scientists are just starting to learn how to duplicate human embryonic stem cells into many different types of cells. The hope is that by guiding this transformation in the laboratory, scientists can duplicate stem cells to make new cells that could be used to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease or other disorders. On the one hand you have people like Christopher Reeve and Michael J. Fox who say stem cells could cure their diseases and on the other side you have people who say no cure is worth destroying a human embryo. And since stem cells research at this point usually involves an embryo or fetus, the ethical issue are involved.

Stem cell research is currently legal in most countries. The United States, normally a leader in stem cell research, is one of the last to explore this territory. The UK has been the first country to pass a law governing the use of human embryos for stem cell research. The controversy over embryonic stem cells has pitted researchers and advocates for people with debilitating diseases against some conservative groups and opponents of abortion rights. Many scientists say stem cell research has the potential to help develop cures for conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's--even heart disease and paralysis. Religious conservatives argue that using those stem cells means deriving benefit from the destruction of human embryos--fertilized eggs in the early stages of development and it is no less a crime than abortion. This is a reasonable argument supported by the fact the cells are taken from a living embryo, which is destroyed, after the cells are taken. Some people believe the embryo deserves some protection because of its potential to become a person. So, generating tissue from human embryos is never acceptable. Since I don't' believe that a life start