Should stem cell research be allowed?

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Louis W        Year 12 Biology

HUMAN AWARENESS ESSAY

Stem Cells

Should stem cell research be allowed? Stem cell research has been a major biological breakthrough in recent years. It has great potential to help people and ease suffering. But there is also a moral question raised about stem cell research, and that comes from the source of stem cells. Ever since Stem Cell research started, there has been much debate over whether or not it should be allowed. Some people are completely against stem cell research because the stem cells are often taken from aborted pregnancies, they consider it murder. While others want stem cell research to continue because it can help ease people’s suffering and cure disease. There are already certain restrictions (in many countries) on much of the research and it is unclear if these restrictions will be lifted.

Stem cells have the ability to divide rapidly. These cells are unspecialized or ‘blank’ cells meaning they have no purpose as of yet, under the right conditions they can become cells with special functions like heart or liver cells. This means stem cells could repair diseased or damaged organs. So for example if part of a mouse’s spine was removed stem cells could be put in its place and under the right conditions form the missing part of the spine. The stem cells would become spine cells.  Stem cells can be extracted from adults and umbilical cords after a child is born, but are usually taken from embryos or tissue from aborted pregnancies (before the first trimester). Embryonic stem cells are of corse taken from human embryos.  It is also possible to clone embryonic stem cells but this is banned in Australia and the USA. After years experimenting with extraction of mouse embryonic stem cells, scientists in 1998 found how to isolate human stem cells from embryos and grow them in laboratories. These cells were used for in virtro, and when no longer needed were given to researchers.  Stem cells in the Foetus are the origin of specialized cell types that make up the lungs, heart, liver and other tissue. Adult stem cells in some tissue such as muscle tissue are there to replace cells lost from disease injury and wear and tear.  Scientists are more interested in embryonic stem cells then adult stem cells because they are grown easily in laboratories and seem to be able to become any kind of cell. Adult stem cells can only generate cells of the tissue they reside in, so for example nerve stem cells can only produce nerve cells and would not be able to make blood cells. Many scientists predict in the future stem cells may be able to treat diseases like Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

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Stem cells have caused a lengthy morale debate worldwide. When discussing the impact of stem cell research there are two ways it can be seen. First of all there is the side for stem cell research; stem cells have the ability to help cure certain disease and also help repair damaged organs and thus the potential to save lives and alleviate pain, they also have other potential benefits. On the other hand stem cells are often taken from embryos and foetuses which many people consider immoral because the embryos and foetuses are being robbed of their potential life and ...

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*** This is a good report on the ethical issues concerning stem cell research. The scientific theory was good but could have gone in to slightly more depth explaining the role of stem cells in the body and how they can differentiate to become specialised. This report would also have benefited from being more formal and using fewer colloquial terms such as 'on the other hand' etc. The sources given in the bibliography are very good and would aid any report in to stem cell research.