Embryonic Stem Cell is Pertinent to Finding Cures
Diseases, sicknesses, burns, and infections: how can this world ever be cured? It was not until recently in 1998 when a promising cure was discovered, the embryonic stem cell (ESC). According to Christine Watkins in one of her social issues books titled Human Embryo Experimentation, ESC was discovered by both James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin and John Gearhart at the University of Pennsylvania (10). Thomson, a director of regenerative biology, and Gearhart, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, each separately disclosed that they have successfully grown the first human pluripotent stem cell lines. These cell lines contain cells that can divide endlessly and differentiate, otherwise also known as human embryonic stem cells. However, in Stem Cells: Opposing Viewpoints by Jacqueline Langwith, Woo Suk Hwang, a South Korean researcher and a handful of his …show more content…
ES cells are one of the most widely known and greatest of all stem cell research innovations in modern times. They are considered “master cells” when compared to other stem cells, including adult stem cells because they are the only type of cells to have the capability to be transformed into any type of cells in the human body. According to Science on the Edge: Stem Cells written by Jenny Tesar, embryonic stem cells can convert into more than 200 various types of specialized cells in the human body, including bone cells, nerve cells, fat cells, and muscle cells (8). Along with that, embryonic stem cells can multiply themselves for long periods of time (Tesar 8). For decades, researchers have taken and studied embryonic stem cells from mice (Viegas). However, when researchers could not get the mice ES cells to form human cells, scientists turned their attention to retrieving hES cells directly from human embryos (Viegas
Diseases, sicknesses, burns, and infections: how can this world ever be cured? It was not until recently in 1998 when a promising cure was discovered, the embryonic stem cell (ESC). According to Christine Watkins in one of her social issues books titled Human Embryo Experimentation, ESC was discovered by both James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin and John Gearhart at the University of Pennsylvania (10). Thomson, a director of regenerative biology, and Gearhart, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, each separately disclosed that they have successfully grown the first human pluripotent stem cell lines. These cell lines contain cells that can divide endlessly and differentiate, otherwise also known as human embryonic stem cells. However, in Stem Cells: Opposing Viewpoints by Jacqueline Langwith, Woo Suk Hwang, a South Korean researcher and a handful of his …show more content…
ES cells are one of the most widely known and greatest of all stem cell research innovations in modern times. They are considered “master cells” when compared to other stem cells, including adult stem cells because they are the only type of cells to have the capability to be transformed into any type of cells in the human body. According to Science on the Edge: Stem Cells written by Jenny Tesar, embryonic stem cells can convert into more than 200 various types of specialized cells in the human body, including bone cells, nerve cells, fat cells, and muscle cells (8). Along with that, embryonic stem cells can multiply themselves for long periods of time (Tesar 8). For decades, researchers have taken and studied embryonic stem cells from mice (Viegas). However, when researchers could not get the mice ES cells to form human cells, scientists turned their attention to retrieving hES cells directly from human embryos (Viegas