Stem Cell Research Stem cells are the fundamental building units of the human body. They serve as a repair system internally. Dividing and restoring broken tissues to continue to develop. Each cell continues to divide to create another cell or to stay as a stem cell and continue to regenerate and divide as long as the organism is alive. Stem cells are very unique from other cells. They are distinguished and special; they are able to “renew” themselves through the splitting of cells, a process called “cell division” (National Institute of Health). Stem cells can split and divide as much as possible and can turn into a more specific cell when the body lack of it (Furcht and Hoffman liv). On the other hand, there are only certain places …show more content…
Researchers extract stem cells by “destroying human embryos.” (Konsen 2-3). This is where the ethical and moral debate started.
These cells are taken from fertilized eggs (egg cells extracted from the woman reproductive system) through “in vitro fertilization,” a procedure that bonds the egg and the sperm in an unnatural way or in a lab facility rather than inside a human body. Then these fertilized eggs are “donated for research purposes” but only with the permission of the owner of the fertilized eggs (National Institutes of Health). When donated cells are received by scientists and researchers, they are cultured and grown in laboratories, known as the process of “cell culture.” These cells are then produced by “transferring cells from a preimplantation,” which means that “the human embryo has not yet implanted in the wall of the uterus.” During this process the cells are placed in an instrument where they are grown and refined. This instrument contains a liquid “culture” which shelters the cells and nourishes while also supporting the said cells. These “culture medium” can also affect the growing mechanism that has been put into the instrument used to form the anticipated difference of the cells. After this, they then start a cycle of subculturing to create stem lines. These lines are used for different research on genetics and other branches of science to make advances in each field. In mostly all phases of the procedure, sets of these
The entire controversy about embryonic stem cell research deals with the ethics of embryonic stem cell harvesting. It is true that the old techniques of harvesting embryonic stem cells resulted in the destruction of the embryo; however, there are new techniques that allow researchers to harvest more embryonic stem cells and leave the embryo undamaged. the current way of harvesting embryonic stem cells is called Blastomere extraction. Blastomere extraction takes place on the second day after an egg is fertilized. The
All the human embryonic stem cell lines currently in use come from four to five-day-old embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. In IVF, researchers mix a man 's sperm and a woman 's eggs together in a lab dish. Some of those eggs will become fertilized. At about five days the egg has divided to become a hollow ball of roughly 100 cells called a blastocyst which is smaller than the size of the dot over an “i”. ("Myths and Misconceptions About Stem Cell Research.")
Human embryonic stem cells, one of the two types of stem cells, are cells derived from the embryo, fertilized by in vitro fertilization, and then are typically donated to research (Book & stem cells.nih.gov). Researchers study the power of the embryonic stem cells with the hope to replace damaged neurons and specialized cells caused by particular diseases. These embryos that are used today for research are left over, or not used, embryos from an in vitro procedure. It is important to note that the embryos that are used for embryonic stem cell research were donated by the in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos donated to research, from couples where were impregnated in vitro by physicians, were left over with the intention of being destroyed by the clinic.
One of the ways to obtain stem cells for scientific research is to destroy a blastocyst (laboratory-fertilized human egg). Destroying the blastocyst is the equivalent of murder or ending a human life. Life begins at conception, and the destruction of this pre-born life is morally unacceptable and not justifiable. Even if the outcome of extracting these stem cells can be beneficial by saving or reducing
Stem cells are cells within the body that have the ability to grow and reproduce repeatedly into any type of mature cell. They are unspecialized cells that divide through mitosis to produce more stem cells that replace cells in the system in which they are found. Stems cells make it possible for the body to renew and repair its damaged tissues. They are also vital in the development of human life. Stem cells are high potential cells, and this makes them a top focus in the biomedical research world. (Stem Cell Basics, 2009) This paper will discuss the background, function, and other aspects of stem cells.
Today, what I would like to talk about is stem cells, which is a kind of the most important cells because it is a foundation for the development and growth of other lots of different cell types. There are many other tissues they are working with internal repair system and they also can divide necessarily for supplement to other cells if they are still alive. But, the condition is different of stem cell, which has two major functions compare with other cell types, remaining a stem cell continually or transforming to other cells that have specialized functions like bone marrow cells, and they can divide and renew by themselves for a long time. Today, there are two main stem cells are used by scientists with many different ways: embryonic stem
There have been many controversies around the world concerning the ethical issues of the Embryotic Stem-Cell Research (ESC). Some people consider it to be abortion while others believe it is not. To many individuals, it involves a violation of their moral standards and is against their religious beliefs. To this day, many individuals are haunted by these disputes. Unfortunately, the laws that preserve life have been so perversely bent out of shape that nobody knows which answer should be taken on this subject. Many individuals believe that it could be the greatest research for the findings of many cures of cancer and diseases; however killing an embryo does not come to mind when they think of such experiments. They simply do not comprehend
In very simple terms, stem cells are cells that have the strong ability to become any number of other cells. “Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division . . . Second, they can be induced to become tissue-or organ-specific cells with special functions” (NIH 2002, 1). There are two extensive groupings of stem cells in which scientists primarily work with. These include embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are “derived from the developing
Stem cells not only exist in developing embryonic cells but also in the adult nervous system of all mammalian organisms which include humans. Stem cells can also be derived from developing mammalian nervous system. Embryonic stem cells have vast possibility in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as they have the capacity to produce each type of cell and tissue in the body. On paper, it could revolutionize the way human diseases and organ transplants are treated by creating any type of cell in a laboratory whenever needed. However, like any type of biological research there is bound to be many ethical issues that surround it and with the study of embryonic stem cells there are many who would call it inhumane as they would say an embryo is life and by destroying one it would be murder. However, in 2006 some researchers at Kyoto University in Japan have identified a way to produce cells with a stem cell like state without having to use embryos as testing. Their research has allowed them to recognised conditions that would create reprogrammed undifferentiated adult and human cells from already specialised cells skin, hair.
Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos; however, most embryonic stem cells are generated and fertilized through in-vitro fertilization in a laboratory setting, not within a woman’s reproductive system. Embryonic cell generation is by no means efficient, although once the stem cells are created, it is able to yield millions of embryonic stem cells from that one cell (“Stem Cell Basics”).
“Researchers derive the human embryonic stem cells from the “inner cell mass” of blastocyst stage embryos that develop in culture within five days of fertilization of the oocyte. To obtain the embryonic stem cells, the early embryo has to be destroyed.” (Human embryonic).
Scientists remove the blastocyst by microsurgery and transfer it to a nutrient broth known as the culture medium. Not all the cells will survive some will differentiate prematurely, and cells that do not differentiate, will still have the ability to generate any type of cell. As cells grow and crowd the dish, individual cells are removed and placed in a new dish to continue the cell culture, cells that grow and do not differentiate for at least six months are called a stem cell line. These cells are described as being pluripotent, which means they are able to generate cells of any tissue in the body. Stem cells are then grown in the laboratory and may be used to generate specialized cells that differentiate, in order for scientists to get this to happen they add new growth factors and change the chemical composition of which these stem cells grow.
Stem cells are at the center of a new field of science called regenerative medicine. Stem cells are unique cells that are unspecialized and have the ability to proliferate and develop into many different cell types by forming more daughter cells, which become new stem cells or differentiate to become specialized cells. They have the potential to treat diseases, such as Parkinson's, diabetes and cancer. They may be used to rejuvenate organs, reducing the need for organ transplants. The discovery of stem cells is a rapid progressing field in medicine and research.
The functions and characteristics of these cells will be explained in this document. Scientists discovered ways to derive embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos more than 30 years ago, in 1981. The detailed study of the biology of mouse stem cells led to the discovery, in 1998, of a method to derive stem cells from human embryos and grow the cells in the laboratory. These cells are called human embryonic stem cells. The embryos used in these studies were created for reproductive purposes through in vitro fertilization procedures. When they were no longer needed for that purpose, they were donated for research with the informed consent of the donor. In 2006, researchers made another breakthrough by identifying conditions that would allow some specialized adult cells to be "reprogrammed" genetically to assume a stem cell-like state. This new type of stem cell, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), will be discussed in a later section of this document.
Though stem cells can be harvested from a variety of sources, human embryonic stem cells culture lines are the type most often associated with stem cell research by the media. Donated by consenting couples, embryonic stem cells are harvested from left over embryos of the in vitro fertilization process (University, 2004). A fertilized egg is allowed to proliferate for 4-5 days until it reaches the blastocyst stage of development. At this point the embryo consists of a hollow ball of cells with an outer layer, called the trophectoderm, and an inner cell mass on the inside. As this inner cell mass gives rise to all three germ layers present in a fully developed human, the cells are referred to as being pluripotent, and are the target of stem cell harvesting (Towns, 2004). Most of the controversy associated with embryonic stem cells arises because the trophectoderm must be destroyed in order to get to the inner cell mass, effectively killing the embryo as well.