Human Embryonic Stem Cells (Ipscs)

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) continue to be a leading topic to scientific discussions due to their potential medical advantages. Embryonic stem cells originate from gathering and culturing the cell mass from a blastocyst stage embryo developed via in vitro fertilization in specialized fertilization clinics. Human stem cells are great for utilization in clinics and research about the development of the human body. This work consists of identifying how undifferentiated stem cells become the differentiated cells that create the organs and tissues. Scientists turn genes on and off in order to turn these undifferentiated cells into specific cell types. Cancer and birth defects are some serious medical conditions that can happen during cell …show more content…
Advantages of using iPSCs include stem cell success rate and drug development, while disadvantages include undesired side effects. Tissues created by iPSCs would come from the same patient receiving the treatment; therefore the surround cells would not reject the new tissue. Manipulating iPSCs gives us an insight on how manipulating cells effects the systems around them. For example, once scientists are able to master how to turn genes on and off in iPSCs they will be able to develop drugs to turn undesired genes off throughout the body, preventing those genes from expressing the undesired effect. Ironically, one of the side effects from the viruses used to introduce the iPSCs into animals is …show more content…
However, I believe the scientific community should focus all of their efforts into induced pluripotent stem cells, because the long-term advantages outweigh the disadvantages of human embryotic and adult stem cells. The use of human embryotic stem cells is immoral; because embryos have to be created through in vitro and then are donated to science after removing the stem cells. In order to advance our understanding of stem cells, we should focus in a process that does not take a life. Adult stem cells are useful, but since they come from specialized regions they cannot specialize into any type of cell. In other words, adult stem cells are limited as far as the type of cells they could turn into. On the other hand, induced pluripotent stem cells take the advantages of both human embryotic and adult stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells do not require an embryo and can specialize into any type of cell. If the scientific community and the government were able to join efforts in supporting the research of induced pluripotent stem cells then a safer way of introducing iPSCs could be found. These stem cells could help create transplantable tissues and organs, without sacrificing embryos or having them rejected by the patients’