The Cutting Edge in Medicine - Stem Cells

Essay by FspanishmanHigh School, 11th gradeA+, January 2008

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Stem cell research is an innovative field in science that has been the subject of debate in the public and personal arenas. I wholeheartedly agree with stem cell research and believe that the benefits will outweigh the potential negative aspects of this research. Stem cell research could be used to cure innumerable diseases and improve the quality of people's lives. On the other hand, in order to obtain stem cells, developing embryos may have to be utilized.

In my opinion, stem cell research is the future of medicine, as a significant advancement in the field of Biology. First, stem cells are immature cells that go through differentiation to become a more specialized cell. For example, doctors have attempted to cure diabetes by injecting patients with islet cells, which secrete insulin. However, it was not successful due to the immune system attacking them. Stem cells would be injected into patients and would differentiate into the desired kind of cell.

This would allow diabetics to no longer be insulin-dependent, and therefore, they would not have complications due to high levels of blood.

In addition, stem cell research could also help to regenerate nerve cells that normally do not repair after spinal injuries. Since neurons, or nerve cells, rarely do mitosis, they cannot regenerate. Therefore, spinal injuries are lethal because the victims can never recuperate. Stem cell research offers a new hope for these unfortunate people and their families.

Stem cell research is regarded as potentially dangerous by the Catholic Church because stem cells are obtained from human fetuses, which have to be sacrificed so their stem cells can be used. The latest advancement made in this field was that stem cells can now be obtained from the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus. Therefore, by not destroying fetuses, religious issues against stem...