Stem Cells: Are They More Than Just Cells?.
Should stem cells be considered as a life? Many religious people may think so and describe stem cell research to be immoral and wrong. Scientists believe that stem cells can lead them to cures for multifarious diseases. Some people say that stem cell research should not be done because of moral and religious reasons, but many others feel that it can lead to many cures in the future. .
Stem cells are considered the building blocks of biology. Research in developmental biology is what led to the discovery of human stem cells, precursor cells that can give rise to multiple tissue types. A stem cells comes to be when an egg is fertilized and it triggers a majestic sequence whose first step is to create a new structure that is composed if stem calls. Stem cells are capable of morphing into any component of the body such as the heart, nerves, blood, bone and muscle. The embryos of all mammals start out and a group of forty stem cells (Yount 40). The different types of stem cells are embryonic stem (ES), embryonic germ (EG), fetal stem cells, and adult stem cells. The ES and EG cells come from aborted fetuses which raise the question of whether this is moral or not, much like the controversy of abortion (American 1). .
The research and study of stem cells can lead us to many great opportunities in the future. It was thought for a long time that because stem cells are genetically programmed to be changed into other things it would be impossible to control them. In December 1998 two scientists, Gearheart and Thomson, found this to be not the case. Each of them isolated embryonic cells and induced them to begin copying themselves with out turning into anything else. In doing this they have discovered a way to make stem cells by the billions. The process is not very complicated and the stem cells can be reproduced roughly in the same way that pharmaceutical manufacturers produce drugs.