Stem Cells

Stem cells are special cells that have the ability to develop into many different types of

specialized cells. Stem cells can turn such as blood cells, brain cells, and skin cells. Before a cell

differentiates into something its just stem cell. Differentiation is the final becoming of a cell

through cell cell contact and signaling. This means that the cells comes to their final form. There

is two types of stem cells. First there is the Embryonic stem cells which are found in embryos.

These cells are undifferentiated and are Pluripotent, which means they can develop into all cell

types in the germ layers. On the other hand we have Somatic which are different from

Embryonic. Somatic are rarely found in older developed adults. These are found in the organs

and are really limited of what they can become. These stem cells are multipotent. These can

develop into more than one type of cell but they are more limited than pluripotent. With stem

cells we are capable of doing a lot of things. For example, stem cells have the ability to replace

damaged cells and treat a killing disease.

We might have in hands the cure to cancer or other disease killing people. The dilemma

is if it's worth taking those cells from an embryo since once you take them out you can't put them

back. This means that the embryo won't be able to become a fully developed baby. Some argue

that an embryo is not really life yet, but there's not really a start line for what is considered life.

The well used stem cell treatment yet is the transplantation of blood stem cells to treat the

diseases and conditions of the blood or immune system problems. According to the article

Eurostemcell, More than 26,000 patients are treated with blood stem cells in Europe each

year. With these statistics, we can see that we are saving a lot of lives. The ethics of these

dilema come in play. Despite the benefits that stem cells research gives to treat diseases, the use
 remains controversial because of their killing of early embryos. The controversy is if the

embryos are life or not. The stem cells might be beneficial for the people with a disease but what

about the baby that was going to be born on their mother's womb.

In my opinion this is a really valuable research but it's not worth the taking away of

embryo lives. We might want to save these people but we can change their diseases. The

embryos have the right to live as much as the older people with the diseases. We are no one to

pick who lives and who dies but sometimes we just need to let people die or go through what

they have to. In conclusion the discovering of such things are amazing but it's never going to be

alright to take life from something to put it into something else. We can't pick anyone's life or

who lives and dies. The embryos might not have voice but they are not less valued life.

Eurostemcell. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from

http://www.eurostemcell.org/education-resources

(n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/faqs.htm#success

Wert, G. D., & Mummery, C. (2003, April 01). Human embryonic stem cells: research, ethics and

policy. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/18/4/672/596542/Human-embryonic-stem-cells-research-et

hics-and