Landis, Story C, James F. Battey, and Ronald D.G McKay. "Stem Cell Research at NIH." The National Institute of Health. 2007. 27 Mar. 2007 http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/nihresearch/.
In the last few years, stem cells have been written or talked about a great deal. Because this is such an important issue for all of us, the following 2 summaries give a brief overview of the importance in doing stem cell research.
The following is a summary of the article "Stem Cell Research at NIH" produced bye the scientists Landis, Battey, and McKay at the National Institute for Health(NIH). Stem cells hold great value becasue they have the ability to transform into a wide range of cells that are specialized. Understanding how cells become the specialized cells they do will help scientists understand both the normal development as well as when a stem cell develops into an abnormal cell. Although research on embryonic stem cells has been done since 1998, federal funds have only been available since 2001. Adult stem cells, not embryonic, have been the most widely used to treat certain types of cancer.
"Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research." All About Popular Issues. 20 Mar. 2007 http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/pros-and-cons-of-stem-cell-research.htm.
Embryonic stem cells are cells taken from an embryo at it's earliest phase of development. When taken at this early phase, up to 100 stem cells can be harvested to make a "stem cell line" where stem cells double every 2 or 3 days. In 2001, President George W. Bush okayed federal funding for research on a limited number of stem cell lines.
Embryoinc stem cell research is a difficult issue, because both groups-- for and against-- feel very strongly about the procedure. The group that opposes embryonic stem cell research believes the process kills a human life, while those that are for embryonic stem cell research believe the embryo has no "human features," and that the value of using a small number of human embryos outweighs the loss of life that happens when embryos are destroyed.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Shelanski, Michael. "Understanding Stem Cell Research." webmd.com. 22 Sept. 2004. 27 Mar. 2007 .
According to WebMd, there are three main disadvantages to using adult stem cells. The first is that adult stem cells are more mature. They have the ability to become numerous types of cells, but a limited amount compared to embryo stem cells which has the potential to cure more diseases. The second major disadvantage is that adult stem cells can be hard to identify. A human body contains billions of cells; when adult stem cells are found, they are usually in small amounts. The third reason is that adult stem cells take a long period of time to grow. Experiments show that when adult stem cells are found, it takes months for the certain type of cell to grow. Embryonic stem cells on the other hand can be made into several types of cells. When they are needed, the doctor will thaw them and they are ready for use.
Potential cures for diseases include:
-diabetes
-Parkinson's disease
-cancer
-spinal cord injury
-Chron's disease
-genetic diseases
According to WebMd, there are three main disadvantages to using adult stem cells. The first is that adult stem cells are more mature. They have the ability to become numerous types of cells, but a limited amount compared to embryo stem cells which has the potential to cure more diseases. The second major disadvantage is that adult stem cells can be hard to identify. A human body contains billions of cells; when adult stem cells are found, they are usually in small amounts. The third reason is that adult stem cells take a long period of time to grow. Experiments show that when adult stem cells are found, it takes months for the certain type of cell to grow. Embryonic stem cells on the other hand can be made into several types of cells. When they are needed, the doctor will thaw them and they are ready for use.
Potential cures for diseases include:
-diabetes
-Parkinson's disease
-cancer
-spinal cord injury
-Chron's disease
-genetic diseases
Tweeten, Lon. Time Magazine Online. 2001.
Time Magazine Online gives a diagram of the process of stem cells from embryo to stem cell.
~First: an egg is either fertilized or cloned in order to make an embryo. The embryo then starts to divide.
~Within the first 1 to 5 days, the embryo divides numerous times and takes the shape of a blastocyst (sphere).
~Between the 5 and 7 day mark, embryonic stem cells can be seen and have the ability to be developed into any tissue of the body.
~The cells are put into a petri dish to grow. They create a line of stem cells as they divide.
~When scientists use nutrients and other things, they hope to turn the cells into any of the body's 200 tissues.
Some examples that are given in the diagram include using the stem cells for:
-muscle cells-"could repair or replace a damaged heart"
-nerve cells-"could be used to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and repair spinal cord injuries"
-pancreatic islec cells-"could provide cure for diabeates"
Time Magazine Online gives a diagram of the process of stem cells from embryo to stem cell.
~First: an egg is either fertilized or cloned in order to make an embryo. The embryo then starts to divide.
~Within the first 1 to 5 days, the embryo divides numerous times and takes the shape of a blastocyst (sphere).
~Between the 5 and 7 day mark, embryonic stem cells can be seen and have the ability to be developed into any tissue of the body.
~The cells are put into a petri dish to grow. They create a line of stem cells as they divide.
~When scientists use nutrients and other things, they hope to turn the cells into any of the body's 200 tissues.
Some examples that are given in the diagram include using the stem cells for:
-muscle cells-"could repair or replace a damaged heart"
-nerve cells-"could be used to treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and repair spinal cord injuries"
-pancreatic islec cells-"could provide cure for diabeates"
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Bush's Take on Stem Cell Research
Bush, George W. "President Discusses Stem Cell Research." August 9 2001. The White House. 2001. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html
After finding information of President George W. Bush's take on stem cell research i wanted to research it further. I found his speech to the nation about the issue which took place in April of 2001.
He stated that the "issue is debated within the church, with people of different faiths." The administration has to decide whether or not to allow federal funding meaning our taxes to be used on the research of stem cells.
He goes on to state that there are two questions that are debatable. The first is "Are these frozen embryos human life, and therefore, something precious to be protected? And second, if they're going to be destroyed anyway, shouldn't they be used for a greater good, for research that has the potential to save and improve other lives?" He said Americans have written him many letters stating their opinions on the issue. To the first question, some argue that it is the future to our next generation while the other side says they are "pre-embryos" and not yet human life. The debate among the second question is to donate the extra embryos from fertility clinics to science instead of wasting their potential. The other side thinks that just becasue a living being will die doesn't give science the right to experiment.
Since 1932, when Aldous Huxley wrote of humans being created in test tubes the debates have been going on. Scientists mainly create test tube babies just to experiment. Bush believes this is wrong and should not be happening. He also strongly opposed the cloning of humans just because we want to for our convenience or to have spare body parts.
Although Bush stated he believes human life is created by God, he states that he wants to continue the research with great care. He states that he will allow federal funds to be used for research on existing stem cell lines. $250 million dollars will also be used toward funding the research of umbilical cord placenta, adult and animal stem cells, not dealing with the issue of life and death.
Towards the end of his speech, he stated that he would appoint a council consisting of leading scientist, doctors, theologians, etc. headed by Dr. Leon Kass ("a leading biomedical ethicist from the University of Chicago") to monitor the process and regulate the guidlines and rules.
Bush supports embryo adoption, when frozen cell embryos, leftover from fertility clinics are adopted by another family. This gives other familes unable to have children an oppurtunity to "build a family." To this day 81 children have been born through the method of embryo adoption. Bush would like to see the awareness of embryo adoption to increase. In 2002, he signed a bill allowing one million dollars a year for publicizing embryo adoption.
After finding information of President George W. Bush's take on stem cell research i wanted to research it further. I found his speech to the nation about the issue which took place in April of 2001.
He stated that the "issue is debated within the church, with people of different faiths." The administration has to decide whether or not to allow federal funding meaning our taxes to be used on the research of stem cells.
He goes on to state that there are two questions that are debatable. The first is "Are these frozen embryos human life, and therefore, something precious to be protected? And second, if they're going to be destroyed anyway, shouldn't they be used for a greater good, for research that has the potential to save and improve other lives?" He said Americans have written him many letters stating their opinions on the issue. To the first question, some argue that it is the future to our next generation while the other side says they are "pre-embryos" and not yet human life. The debate among the second question is to donate the extra embryos from fertility clinics to science instead of wasting their potential. The other side thinks that just becasue a living being will die doesn't give science the right to experiment.
Since 1932, when Aldous Huxley wrote of humans being created in test tubes the debates have been going on. Scientists mainly create test tube babies just to experiment. Bush believes this is wrong and should not be happening. He also strongly opposed the cloning of humans just because we want to for our convenience or to have spare body parts.
Although Bush stated he believes human life is created by God, he states that he wants to continue the research with great care. He states that he will allow federal funds to be used for research on existing stem cell lines. $250 million dollars will also be used toward funding the research of umbilical cord placenta, adult and animal stem cells, not dealing with the issue of life and death.
Towards the end of his speech, he stated that he would appoint a council consisting of leading scientist, doctors, theologians, etc. headed by Dr. Leon Kass ("a leading biomedical ethicist from the University of Chicago") to monitor the process and regulate the guidlines and rules.
Bush supports embryo adoption, when frozen cell embryos, leftover from fertility clinics are adopted by another family. This gives other familes unable to have children an oppurtunity to "build a family." To this day 81 children have been born through the method of embryo adoption. Bush would like to see the awareness of embryo adoption to increase. In 2002, he signed a bill allowing one million dollars a year for publicizing embryo adoption.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Debates
B.A. Robinson. "Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance" 1998. Ontario Consultants. January 9, 2007. http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm
I found out that stem cells can be used to become many other different types of cells. The following site that I found states that stem cells can be used for more than 220 different types of cells found in humans. More than 100 million Americans suffer from disesases which can be cured with the help of stem cells, such as cancer, diabetes, etc.
The site also acknowledges what happens to cell embryos at a fertnerity clinic. The couple who is left over with extra embryos are given four choices of what to do with them. The four choices involve:
~having them thrown away
~donating them to another fertility couple
~donating them for research
~preserving them at low temp.
Out of these four options, the most common one that couples chose to do is throw them away.
The site explains that there are two sides to this issue. One side of the debate are people known as pro-lifers. They believe that embryos starting at a few days old are humans. When the stem cells are used from the embryo(human), it is therefore killing a human.
When stem cells are taken from adult tissue, even though it does no harm, there are less amounts of stem cells available and they are harder to obtain. It is said to be that adult embryos are less useful then young embryos, and a research is being conducted to further this investigation.
In Britain, stem cell research is allowed, however, in the United States, President Bush has stopped most of the stem cell research. This happened August 9, 2001 where it was only allowed in government laboratories. Throughout France, Japan, Australia, as well as other countries, the research is occuring both in government and private labs.
President Bush vetoed his first bill which was passed by the House in 2005. The bill was trying to allow government research on stem cells to use the extra embryos from fertility clinics.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm
I found out that stem cells can be used to become many other different types of cells. The following site that I found states that stem cells can be used for more than 220 different types of cells found in humans. More than 100 million Americans suffer from disesases which can be cured with the help of stem cells, such as cancer, diabetes, etc.
The site also acknowledges what happens to cell embryos at a fertnerity clinic. The couple who is left over with extra embryos are given four choices of what to do with them. The four choices involve:
~having them thrown away
~donating them to another fertility couple
~donating them for research
~preserving them at low temp.
Out of these four options, the most common one that couples chose to do is throw them away.
The site explains that there are two sides to this issue. One side of the debate are people known as pro-lifers. They believe that embryos starting at a few days old are humans. When the stem cells are used from the embryo(human), it is therefore killing a human.
When stem cells are taken from adult tissue, even though it does no harm, there are less amounts of stem cells available and they are harder to obtain. It is said to be that adult embryos are less useful then young embryos, and a research is being conducted to further this investigation.
In Britain, stem cell research is allowed, however, in the United States, President Bush has stopped most of the stem cell research. This happened August 9, 2001 where it was only allowed in government laboratories. Throughout France, Japan, Australia, as well as other countries, the research is occuring both in government and private labs.
President Bush vetoed his first bill which was passed by the House in 2005. The bill was trying to allow government research on stem cells to use the extra embryos from fertility clinics.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/res_stem.htm
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