Stem Cells: Good, Bad and Ugly
STEM CELLS: THE BAD VS. THE GOOD
THE BACKGROUND The use of embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases; is it unethical, questionable, helpful, in violation of law and policy or just the right answer for many, many diseases? All of these are great questions and are all questions that everyone and everybody has an opinion on at one time or another. To first really understand the controversy surrounding stem cell research you must know a little about its base; embryonic stem cells, “they are cells harvested or collected from the very early stages of a fertilized egg, which contains about eight cells per egg (1).” Are we killing innocent children or are we allowing others the possible chance to live. Many think that harvesting these stem cells is murder, where others are seeing it as the difference between life and death. This is where the controversy begins and why many have a problem with stem cell research; it is how the embryonic stem cells are harvested and how they are used. Now when these cells are taken from the eggs they are put to good use. Biologists all over the world have no doubt in their minds that embryonic stem cells are most likely to do great things for many people in this world. With the capabilities that embryonic cells have there really isn’t a lot out of reach in the future for science. These cells are known for changing into any one of the many types of cells and tissues in the human body. Being able to do this means many things for today, such as the possibility of “growing cells of medical importance such as bone marrow, neural tissue or muscle (2).” The stem cells being able to transform into these many cells can also help in the discovery of new drugs. With all of this new technology, there is a large amount of cells that can be used for research. Possibly then through this research there could be a discovery that helps to provide a better picture of how some diseases work. And through that information maybe
THE BACKGROUND The use of embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases; is it unethical, questionable, helpful, in violation of law and policy or just the right answer for many, many diseases? All of these are great questions and are all questions that everyone and everybody has an opinion on at one time or another. To first really understand the controversy surrounding stem cell research you must know a little about its base; embryonic stem cells, “they are cells harvested or collected from the very early stages of a fertilized egg, which contains about eight cells per egg (1).” Are we killing innocent children or are we allowing others the possible chance to live. Many think that harvesting these stem cells is murder, where others are seeing it as the difference between life and death. This is where the controversy begins and why many have a problem with stem cell research; it is how the embryonic stem cells are harvested and how they are used. Now when these cells are taken from the eggs they are put to good use. Biologists all over the world have no doubt in their minds that embryonic stem cells are most likely to do great things for many people in this world. With the capabilities that embryonic cells have there really isn’t a lot out of reach in the future for science. These cells are known for changing into any one of the many types of cells and tissues in the human body. Being able to do this means many things for today, such as the possibility of “growing cells of medical importance such as bone marrow, neural tissue or muscle (2).” The stem cells being able to transform into these many cells can also help in the discovery of new drugs. With all of this new technology, there is a large amount of cells that can be used for research. Possibly then through this research there could be a discovery that helps to provide a better picture of how some diseases work. And through that information maybe