What is the advantage of stem cell research?

There are several conditions that scientists hope they can find a cure for through the advancement of stem cell research. The list of problems/diseases they expect to be able to cure goes from diabetes, Parkinsons, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimers up to extension of human life itself.

Adult stem cell research has resulted in the development of different therapies of a variety of conditions and diseases. The advantages of stem cell research are not as obvious in the case of embryonic stem cells. This is mainly due to the fact that embryonic stem cell research is not equally funded because of its controversy.

What is a stem cell?

Stem cells have the potential to develop into many different cell types in the body including blood cells and brain cells.  Stem cells can theoretically divide into another stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function. There is great hope for stem cell reasearch to develop many treatments and possibly even cures for a wide range of hard to treat or cure diseases.

What is stem cell research?

It is a new technology using primitive human cells and developing them into most of the many varieties of cells in the human body. Human stem cells come from embryos or adult tissue. Adult stem cells are predominantly formed in the bone marrow. Embryonic stem cells can be created or be leftover embryos from processes like in-vitro fertilization. Stem cell reasearch is a controversely debated subject because of it's ethical concerns.

The anticipated benefits of stem cell research are the trigger for debates between proponents of embryonic stem cell research and those that have objections to it.

Those that endorse stem cell research argue that the benefits of stem cell research outweigh the cost "in terms of embryonic life".  The argument is that embryonic stem cells can differentiate into all types of bodily tissue in a lab environment making them attractive for cellular therapies for treatment of a variety of diseases. Furthermore it is argued that the social and personal costs of the diseases that those embryonic stem cells could treat dwarf the costs associated with the destruction of the embryos.

Opponents of this view see the embryo as an actual human and should therefore be valued equivalent to a "regular" human life. This is based on the assumption that conception marks the beginning of human life associated with the corresponding soul. Subsequently despite any potential benefits of stem cell research the argument follows that human life is inherently valuable and therefore cannot be involuntarily be destroyed to better or even save another life.

The classical definition of stem cells requires two properties. The ability to go through numerous cell divisions while keeping the undifferentiated state and the capacity to differentiate into specialized cell types.

The practical definition of a stem cell is the ability to regenerate tissue over a lifetime.

A human embryonic stem cell is defined by the presence of several transcription factors and surface proteins.

The molecular definition of a stem cell includes more proteins and is still a topic of research.

Embryonic stem cell research started with mouse embryos in 1981. In the late 1998 a technique was developed to isolate and grow cells derived from human blastocysts. This is the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo. Embryonic stem cell research involving human embryos raises questions of ethical values and therefore created a discussion about the limits and conditions for such research.

There are scientific, ethical, legal, social and economic issues related to human stem cell research and human embryonic stem cell research that are part of an international debate about these issues.

Embryonic stem cells also known as unlimited stem cells are usually obtained from three-day old embryos in fertility clinics. They can develop into any kind of cell type or tissue.

The ethics of stem cell research is a topic of increasing importance as stem cell research science and technology continue to advance. In particular the questions arising around embryonic stem cell research ethics have generated much interest and public debate.

The National Institutes of Health cover a lot of resources regarding bioethics in general and stem cell research ethics in particular.

The history of stem cell research has its beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century when it was discovered that there are certain cells that can generate other cells.  Later on it was found specifically that certain cells can generate blood cells.

There are over 200 different cell types in the human body. The history of stem cell discovery and research includes human stem cells as well as animal stem cells.

The Controversy in stem cell research is revolving around the ethics of stem cell research in regards to human embryonic stem cells.  Opponents often argue that embryonic stem cell research could lead into reproductive cloning and therefore devalue human beings. The pro stem cell research argument brought forth by medical researchers in the field is geared around the medical potential of excess embryos from in vitro fertilisation to be used for research.

The debate around the stem cell research controversy is highlighted by the social and ethical challenges that come along with embryonic stem cell research. Stem cell controversy arguments range from the question between benefits and costs up to the comparison of the value of an embryo and those of children and adults.

A lot of people believe the benefits of stem cell research outweigh the destruction of human embryos involved in the research.