Megan McLane

1/13/17

Mod 1b

Stem Cell Essay

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can develop into other types of cells. Three traits of

all stem cell are that they are not specialized, they are able to divide and renew themselves for

long periods, and they give rise to specialized cell types. Stem cells do not have a specific

purpose, but through differentiation, they can become other types of cells. Differentiation in stem

cell occurs through signaling and contact with other cells.

There are three types of stem cells: pluripotent, multipotent, and totipotent. Pluripotent

stem cells are able to become all of the cell types in the body. Multipotent stem cells are able to

become multiple types of cells, but not all of the them. Totipotent stem cells are able to become

any cell in the body, and can even become a full human.

Scientists are researching ways that stem cells can be used to treat different diseases,

including cancer. When giving high doses of chemo to patients with blood cancers, stem cells in

the bone marrow are killed along with the cancerous cells. To replace the stem cells, more stem

cells are put into a person's bone marrow. The transplant of stem cells can come from either the

same person who is getting the transplant or from a donor. In the future, scientists hope to use

stem cells to treat for conditions that are not currently treatable.

Despite the advantages to researching stem cells, there has been debate about whether

destroying human embryos to harvest embryonic stem cells is morally right. This comes from the
debate about when life starts. If life starts when one is still an embryo, then the destroying of

embryos is the same as the killing of innocent people. One could argue that destroying embryos

for stem cell research is acceptable if the embryos were to be destroyed anyways. In that case, it

would be better for the embryos to be used for research than for them to just be destroyed

because they can at least be used to help someone else.

I believe that it is morally acceptable to use embryos for stem cell research. The embryos

are used usually with permission and in many cases the embryos would otherwise be destroyed. I

can understand that other people believe that the destroying of embryos is like killing a person. It

is their belief that an embryo is a human being with a right to life. Especially in the case where

the embryos would be destroyed anyways, I believe it is acceptable to harvest the stem cells in

order to research treatments that could save lives.

 References

TED-Ed. (2013, September 10). What are stem cells? - craig a. Kohn. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evH0I7Coc54

Ethics of stem cell research. (2013, January 28). Retrieved from

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stem-cells/.

About stem cells. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://stemcell.childrenshospital.org/about-stem-cells/pluripotent-stem-cells-101/.

Types of stem cell transplants for cancer treatment. (2016, May 11). Retrieved from

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/stem-cell-tr

ansplant/types-of-transplants.html.

Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma. (2015, November 5). Retrieved from

http://www.eurostemcell.org/embryonic-stem-cell-research-ethical-dilemma.