Should Stem Cell Research Be Allowed?

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

type of stem cell, but many kinds. First of all a stem cell is an undifferentiated primitive cell that is capable of duplicating itself many times. It also has the capability to become any adult cell, like skin cells, blood cells, or even nerve cells (in the past nerve cells could never be repaired). There are three main terms used to describe different types of stem cells. The first one is unipotent which means that the particular stem cell being referred to can give rise to one type of cell. The second term is pluripotent this means that a specific stem can possibly differentiate onto most of the cells in any organism. Finally the third term is totipotent, which means that, that stem cell is able to become any extra embryonic membrane or tissue [Fox 2007]. The main stem cell that has had the best results so far is the embryonic stem cell. Using blastocysts that were given to science for research after in vitro fertilization scientist James Thomson along with his fellow ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

cells that have characteristic shapes. Although they have similarities to embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells are unipotent. This means that adult stem cells in regular conditions give rise to only one particular kind of cell [Schneider and Goldstein 2010]. Adult stem cells are great and ethically accepted the only problem is they are hard to come by. They are so hard to find because they are only one in about ten thousand to fifteen thousand because their primary job is to maintain homeostasis. In embryonic stem cells their origin is evident and is the only way they can be extracted and then isolated, but in adult stem cells their origin whereabouts remains a mystery. Lastly there are ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: