Found It

Stem Cell Research:
Stem cell research is arguably one the most progressive medical discoveries in the last twenty years.   With this discovery, scientists hope to increase the understanding of how diseases occur, generate healthy cells to replace these diseased cells, and also use these cells to test the effectiveness and safety of new drugs. With stem cell research, comes the hope of curing the many diseases and genetic disorders that effect millions of people every year.   However, despite the promise of successful new methods to treating patients, there is still much dispute about the use of stem cells and the moral and ethical concerns behind their use.
Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells have their origin.   All specialized, or differentiated, cells in the body are created from a pool of stem cells that are found in embryos in their earliest stage.   An embryo is a group of cells that forms when a woman's egg is fertilized with a man's sperm. Stem cells are valuable because they are the only cells that have the ability to self- renew or differentiate.   When cultivated in a laboratory, a stem cell creates daughter cells by dividing to form more cells.   The daughter cells can then be used to create specialized cells, each with a specialized function, or to create more stem cells.  
There are two types of stem cells: embryonic and adult.   Embryonic or pluriponent stem cells come from the earliest stage in human development. These cells have the ability to produce any and all of the body’s cell types.   On the other hand, adult stem cells come from the tissues, like bone marrow, in fully developed humans.   These cells, also known as multiponent cells, can only produce certain types of the body’s cells and are limited in their abilities.   Because of their potential to produce all types of the body’s cells, embryonic stem cells are more desirable for use to regenerate or repair diseased tissue and organs in people. Scientists have also found that...