Stem Cells
The Fountain of Youth
There is hope for patients with chronic, life-threatening diseases. Stem cells research should be supported fully and greatly promoted by the U.S. government and health agencies because of the ability to cure debilitating diseases and provide an economic boost for our country.
Stem cells from embryos might someday provide an endless supply of new tissues to replace those worn out by aging or by diseases that result from cell and tissue malfunction. Scientists have already found ways to develop stem cells into most types of human cells such as blood, brain, heart tissue, nerve cells, and bones. Removing the outer lining from the cell is required and once this occurs it no longer has the ability to develop into a human being, but the cells that are derived from early embryos retain the capacity to transform and grow into any tissue in the body. Researchers are confident that they will lead to treatments to many diseases such as AIDS, bone loss, and broken bones. Down Syndrome, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Leukemia are some of the major menacing diseases that kill and disable millions of people each year. Some of these diseases can be prevented and treated, but none of them can be cured. With embryonic stem cells a cure is in near sight.
Once controlled and recognized, stem cells could make drugs seem as old-fashioned as a horse and buggy. The medicines we use today try to support or treat injured tissues and organs, where as stem cells could simply replace them. Rather than administering insulin to diabetics, a sufferer could receive new cells to make insulin for their body as needed. While most uses of stem cells are highly experimental, they are already used in cancer treatments. After tumors and the patient's bone marrow are killed by anti-cancer drugs, blood stem cells are squirted into the marrow, where they get a long-term lease and make a whole range of blood-cell types.
The way these...
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