Stem Cell Research
Stem Cell Research Paper
Stem cell research has been quite a controversial topic since its origin in the 1960s by Gopal Das and Joseph Altman. Of course, anything that uses a human embryo would be. Stem cell research could open a vast number of new doors for modern science; it could let us test new drugs, one of which could be the unfound cure for AIDS or Alzheimer's disease. However, this branch of science comes at a high price, the price of a human life that is only five to six days
old (NIH). It is quite nearly impossible to take a stand in this argument from an unbiased viewpoint.
What is a stem cell? A stem cell is an unspecialized cell, meaning it is not a heart, brain, or any other type of cell that has a special purpose, so it can take the form of any other type of cell. In other words, the fate of these cells has not been determined yet! This means that once inserted and given the right signal or trigger, the stem cell can adapt and divide like all of the cells in the area. Many leading Health Institutes are actively trying to find another way of getting such unspecialized cells. One way that many scientists are supporting is the freezing of the Placenta (Wikipedia). The Placenta is the mother's tissue to the umbilical cord of the fetus is attached. If frozen, placenta can later help the baby that the female gave birth to by providing unspecialized stem cells. The major drawback of this method is that the Placental stem cells will only work for the baby that was attached to it through the umbilical cord (Wikipedia). There are four types of stem cells, Totipotent, Pluripotent, Multipotent, and Unipotent. Totipotent cells can become any type of tissue in the body (including the Placenta) and are only found in the Morula. Morula is a solid ball of cells before different germ layers become differentiated in the fetus. Pluripotent stem cells are just like Totipotent cells, but they can only become cell derived from the...
View Full Essay