Stem Cell Research is a widely and heavily debated topic across the world with propponents and opponents alike ready to expose the advantages and disadvantages of the controversial field of science.
A stem cell is a cell that has not yet differentiated and retains the ability to turn into many different tissues, and they have enormous potential in medical applications because they can be used to replace diseased or damaged tissues and aid in organ repair or replacement, as well as the more popular topic: cloning, or creating a genetic copy of an organism. Personally, I am pro-stem cell, and I feel that accepting and utilizing Stem Cell Research will be another one of mankind’s great steps.
Specialized cells can be used to form or reform muscle
…show more content…
Specialized cells come from a process known as differentiation, where an undifferentiated cell creates several specialized cells. Unlike muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells, which don’t normally replicate themselves, stem cells have the ability to replicate several times.
When differentiating, the cell goes through several stages, becoming increasingly specialized at each stage. Stem cells typically generate the cell types of the tissue in which they live. For example, a blood- forming stem cell in the bone marrow normally creates several types of blood cells. Stem cells grown in the nerves can be used to help rebuild or repair a damaged nervous system. This could lay the groundwork for new types of medicinal treatment that can be more effective than the traditional treatments we’ve been used to.
Colton Wooten 2
However, there are several potential detractions to the usage of stem cells, and some are fairly severe. As it stands now, several current stem cell treatments have proved to be very dangerous, or ineffective at the least. Currently the most well-defined and extensively used stem cell treatment is hematopoietic (or blood) stem cell transplantation. For example, bone marrow transplantation, to