Stem Cell Research
What is our world really coming to? It is predicted that somewhere in the future we are going to be able to construct the perfect child with no defects and no disabilities. We will be able to predict what diseases they will contract in their life and what type of person they are going to be and the age of which they are going to die. We are going to be able to cure every type of disease. With a discovery of a small yet powerful cell, these things and others are looking to be solved. Honestly though how much proof do we really have?A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be coaxed into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body (e.g. blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc). Stem cells are defined as the undifferentiated, primitive cells in the bone marrow that have the ability both to multiply and to differentiate into specific blood cells. Some researchers regard them as offering the greatest potential for the alleviation of human suffering since the development of antibiotics. Over 100 million Americans suffer from diseases that may eventually be treated more effectively with stem cells or even cured. These include heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. (Robinson, 2).
(National Institutes of Health, 2004). They feel that a few-days-old embryo is a human person. There are some things nature intended for and we must leave it alone before we get too carried away. It has no organs to see, hear, touch, or taste. However ethical objections to the cloning of human embryos for this purpose are "outweighed by the potential benefits" of using embryonic stem cells to advance research into the treatment of degenerative diseases. There is all this thought that they may offer potential cures and therapies for many devastating diseases but nothing has been proven to work yet. There are over 4,000 registered diseases specifically linked to genetic abnormalities, as well as a host of others which are thought to have a genetic component. For example, islet cells control insulin production in the pancreas which is disrupted in people with diabetes. For scientists to be able to share results and gauge the success of techniques for controlling stem cell behavior, and they also must first know that the cells they are studying actually possess the ability to serve as the source, or "stem," of a variety of cell types while themselves remaining in a generic state of potential. (National Institutes of Health, 2004). The repaired cells then "replenished" the immune system ("re-stocked" it with healthy cells) and the children have since gone on to make a full recovery.
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