Medicine is constantly changing and evolving as we grow in our advancement with technology and our understand of the body. For decades, however, there has been a general agreement that some diseases will never be cured - like cancer or Alzheimer’s. Thanks to an important discovery made only a century ago, the curability of these diseases, and other future diseases, is being challenged by a new cure all called stem cells. The term “stem cell” has been around for a quite some time, even though the actual understanding of these cells is relatively new. First used in 1868, by the biologist Ernst Haeckel, it was used to describe the extremely broad topic of egg fertilization (childrenshopsital.org). Now used in a variety of different ways, stem
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In most arguments, the belief that life begins with conception for these embryos used in the research weighs heavy on many people’s opinions. However, this brings about the issue of morality vs. science, and raises more questions than it answers on both sides of this argument. When looking at stem cells, it is best to focus on the scientific aspect, as the benefits the stem cells provide cannot be ignored. Stem cells do more good than bad, and have great potential to lead to even more advances in the future. As of now, stem cells are used in many different ways, although their most important contribution is cancer research. The use of cell therapies – or a procedure that replaces cells that have become defective with stem cells – has become one of the most popular treatments for certain types of cancer (explorestemcells.co.uk). Although its use is relatively small, its effects have shown to be positive, which may prove to yield even greater results in the future. Not only that, but evidence suggests that stem cells may one day be used to cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diseases of the heart and retina, as well as provide an alternative for organ donations. (explorestemcells.co.uk) The potential for stem cell research is astounding, and the benefits it may someday yield cannot be ignored. With our technology growing and improving by the day, we may even find more uses for it in the future. Without the continuance of using stem cells for research, we may not find cures for ailments that have been plaguing human kind for ages. There’s always going to be someone to find problems with this type of research but the fact of the matter is that these benefits cannot be ignored. Stem cells have the potential to help us cure diseases we thought were forever incurable. So if there’s even the slightest chance that we can
In most arguments, the belief that life begins with conception for these embryos used in the research weighs heavy on many people’s opinions. However, this brings about the issue of morality vs. science, and raises more questions than it answers on both sides of this argument. When looking at stem cells, it is best to focus on the scientific aspect, as the benefits the stem cells provide cannot be ignored. Stem cells do more good than bad, and have great potential to lead to even more advances in the future. As of now, stem cells are used in many different ways, although their most important contribution is cancer research. The use of cell therapies – or a procedure that replaces cells that have become defective with stem cells – has become one of the most popular treatments for certain types of cancer (explorestemcells.co.uk). Although its use is relatively small, its effects have shown to be positive, which may prove to yield even greater results in the future. Not only that, but evidence suggests that stem cells may one day be used to cure diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diseases of the heart and retina, as well as provide an alternative for organ donations. (explorestemcells.co.uk) The potential for stem cell research is astounding, and the benefits it may someday yield cannot be ignored. With our technology growing and improving by the day, we may even find more uses for it in the future. Without the continuance of using stem cells for research, we may not find cures for ailments that have been plaguing human kind for ages. There’s always going to be someone to find problems with this type of research but the fact of the matter is that these benefits cannot be ignored. Stem cells have the potential to help us cure diseases we thought were forever incurable. So if there’s even the slightest chance that we can