Before giving this assignment to work on I was 100 percent against stem cells research. But
due to extension research I found out that stem cells can provide us with a myriad of possibilities
in medical technology, but not without bringing with it serious moral and ethical dilemmas. For
the sake of our children and their children after them, it is imperative that we resolve these
current issues in genetics. In this research paper I will give the definition of stem cell, the current
techniques in stem cells research, and how it would benefit the medical field.
Stem cell is a general term used to identify any cell that has the ability to divide indefinitely
and to differentiate into other specific cell types when properly stimulated. This differentiative
and proliferative capability is due to the unrestricted state of the activation of gene expression.
The complete genome of any mammalian cell has on the other of 105 genes that may or may not
be expressed. Depending on the selection and sequence of these genes or gene products, the
cell can give rise to any cell type. Generally, genes can be activated and inactivated leading to
different cellular phenotypes. These directed activations and inactivations are what led the stem
cells to its terminal cellular type. Through intra and inter-cellular signaling, the cell wall, in a
step wise manner, gradually differentiate with each step resulting in a new irreversible phenotype
Specifically different from the last and closer to that of the terminal cell type.
A stem cell that is completely undifferentiated and has the ability to become any cell type is
referred to as totipotent. In mammalian cell biology is zygote. The fertilized egg will undergo
several rounds of division as a cluster of totipotent cells. At approximately four days post-
fertilization, the cells called a blastocyst. This sphere has an outer la...