Why Stem-Cell Research is a Good Thing The world we live in is constantly debating over the ethicality of a multitude of issues. Typically they pertain to why something major could help an individual on a micro or macro scale but, often sacrifices something deemed morally or ethically wrong. These issues often divide us and can often cause complications. The first topic people usually think of when it comes to a situation is abortion. Since stem-cell research is loosely related to the abortion issue it’s not uncommon for someone to take the same side on both issues. This debate, just like abortion, relates back to the question that no one can find an answer to, when does human life begin? Some say it’s wrong to tamper with a life that can’t
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This is a misconception, stem-cells can be derived from a number of different sources. The first, and most obvious, is that stem-cells can be taken from human embryos. Embryonic stem-cells are the most versatile stem-cell that we currently know how to obtain. Embryonic stem-cells are considered to be totipotent, this means that they can become any sort of cell, it could be anything from skin cells to neural cells. This is why embryonic stem-cells are the most desirable among all source of stem-cells. Another form of stem-cells are adult stem cells, scientists have found that there stem-cells can be extracted from many tissues and organs in small amounts. The stem-cells derived from these tissues and organs are used for maintenance and repair of these tissues. They are thought to be dormant until stimulated by disease and injury, in which case, they begin dividing and creating new cells. There’s a number of ways that adult stem-cells can be extracted from the body. Different cell types can be extracted from different sources. For example, blood cells can be extracted from bone marrow, from blood in the umbilical cord from a newborn baby, or from circulating blood in an adult. Mesenchymal stem cells, which can make bone, cartilage, fat, fibrous connective tissue, and cells that support the formation of blood can also be isolated from bone marrow. Neural stem-cells have been extracted from the brain and spinal cord. In recent discoveries, cardiac cells have been isolated from the hearts of adults.(Adult, 3) The issue with adult stem-cells is the availability of the cells. The number of cells we’re able to obtain is too small for us to do anything substantial with, for this reason, scientists are currently working on ways to grow more stem-cells from pre-existing stem-cells. With adult stem-cells we don’t harm any
This is a misconception, stem-cells can be derived from a number of different sources. The first, and most obvious, is that stem-cells can be taken from human embryos. Embryonic stem-cells are the most versatile stem-cell that we currently know how to obtain. Embryonic stem-cells are considered to be totipotent, this means that they can become any sort of cell, it could be anything from skin cells to neural cells. This is why embryonic stem-cells are the most desirable among all source of stem-cells. Another form of stem-cells are adult stem cells, scientists have found that there stem-cells can be extracted from many tissues and organs in small amounts. The stem-cells derived from these tissues and organs are used for maintenance and repair of these tissues. They are thought to be dormant until stimulated by disease and injury, in which case, they begin dividing and creating new cells. There’s a number of ways that adult stem-cells can be extracted from the body. Different cell types can be extracted from different sources. For example, blood cells can be extracted from bone marrow, from blood in the umbilical cord from a newborn baby, or from circulating blood in an adult. Mesenchymal stem cells, which can make bone, cartilage, fat, fibrous connective tissue, and cells that support the formation of blood can also be isolated from bone marrow. Neural stem-cells have been extracted from the brain and spinal cord. In recent discoveries, cardiac cells have been isolated from the hearts of adults.(Adult, 3) The issue with adult stem-cells is the availability of the cells. The number of cells we’re able to obtain is too small for us to do anything substantial with, for this reason, scientists are currently working on ways to grow more stem-cells from pre-existing stem-cells. With adult stem-cells we don’t harm any