Embryonic stem cells are obtained from human embryos, as their name would suggest. More specifically, they’re taken from preimplantation embryos (or blastocysts) which are embryos that are not connected to the wall of the uterus. In stem cell research, these embryos are typically developed through in vitro fertilization, meaning that the egg and sperm that lead to the formation of the embryo were united in a lab as opposed to inside of a woman (“What Are Embryonic Stem Cells?”). To practice on these cells, the Inner Cell Mass (ICM) or cluster of cells inside a preimplantation embryo is removed and placed into a dish where its cells begin to divide. If these cells survive and divide enough, each single cell is taken out of the dish and placed into one of its own for the process to continue. …show more content…
They are despecialized, so they are essentially in a sort of limbo in terms of what purpose they serve, and more importantly they can be brought out of this limbo to serve most any purpose necessary. As biologists Junying Yu and James A. Thomson state, “human embryonic stem (ES) cells capture the imagination because they are immortal and have an almost unlimited developmental potential.” Have some damaged heart, blood, or muscle cells that need replacing? Why stop there: have cells of almost any type that could be swapped for fresh spares? Through altering either the conditions of the dish in which the cells are dividing or by tinkering with the cell itself, scientists can differentiate embryonic stem cells to fulfill those