2009+World+History+Final+Project+D+Allison

=Why is stem cell research a controversial topic around the world? =

**Introduction** The technology has improved for days and it continuously developed indefinitely. As the science technology has improved, it has benefited in our people’s lives and helped to make more comfortable. Consequently, now people are able to live a longer life and the qualities had become much better. In the modern days, people are challenging to discover out more parts in depth to improve many things, such as trying to cure all diseases that are unable currently, or inventing things that are make our lives more convenient. If we look out the global world, we are able to know that genetic research is one of the worthy fields that are getting the spotlight in the 21st centuries. One of them is the stem cell research, which is a topic that we are aware of it. As the population increases and damage and injures of the people are increasing, the demands of the organs and tissues to replace are getting higher rapidly. However, the demands compared to the actual products are too comparative. Because it lacks enough resource, the scientists find out a plan – which is called ‘stem cells.’ This research project was promoted and soon came up to the surface. It is considered as a hot issue that is still bringing up a lot of debates and opinions. The main forces of these debates are from the moral perspective and the scientific perspective. What parts of the stem cell research has become a controversial topic around the world?

Stem cells are the cells that have the ability of changing into other different cell types in the whole body. Many tissues have an internal repair system; they divide with having no limitations to replace other cells, unless the particular organism is dead. They are able to replace cells in the body that are damaged (Stem cell basics). There are few characteristics that stem cells have, which is unique. Stem cells are able to divide and produce new cells indefinitely, and they can be also operated as a part of tissue or an organ. It perfectly works well if it is restored in the place. When a stem cell divides, each new cell can have two choices; it can remain as a stem cell or transform into another type of cell with a specialized function, such as a muscle cell or a brain cell. However, it doesn’t mean stem cells could be divided every time. Few of the organs, such as the brain or the heart, allow them to divide in a particular condition. Thanks to the cells, the scientists got hope of making a treatment of diseases. There are two types of stem cells that are most regarded: the adult stem cell and the embryonic stem cell. The adult cell and embryonic cell differ in their functions. The adult cells are cells that can become into variety of tissues. In other words, they are not completely free; they have the certain extent to transform. The embryonic cells are able to grow and become all kinds of cells in the body because they are 'pluripotent,' which means cells that are able to transform into every kind of cell. The major difference between these two is the number of range of cell types that can transform. The embryonic cell is much useful than it because it can change into 200 kinds of cells. However, the adult cell is only able to change in a limited range. Because adult cells are difficult to find and isolate them, there is a huge difference of the number between these two cells. Still, the adult stem cells have the benefit that it causes less ethical concerns. Due to the fact that adult cells are fully grown, there are fewer issues about it. The embryonic cells have the potential to become a human living; so aborting it is considered as murdering a person.
 * 1. What are stem cells? **
 * Embryonic Stem cells vs. Adult Stem cells**


 * 2. Why is stem cell research significant? **

Stem cells are important to both humans and animals for many reasons. In a blastocyst -means a 3 to 5 day old embryo-, the inner cells rise up to the entire body of the organism, including the organs and tissues. In some adult tissues, the less amount of adult stem cells provide the restoration for cells that are damaged or lost through serious injure or disease. Also, using the beneficial ability of dividing into cells indefinitely, stem cells are able to provide ways of treating diseases that cannot be cured easily, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. However, currently scientists don’t know exactly the solution of solving these. More research should be going on to achieve it. (Stem cell basics)

Furthermore, by using stem cells, people could develop medicines. In these days, the experiments of the medicines occur mostly to the laboratory animals, and sometimes also humans are being used. It would be obviously dangerous because they don’t know whether or not the side effect would happen. According to the statistics, 90% of the experiments that showed success in animal experiment failed when it tried the same to humans. It clearly shows only doing animal experiments do not prove the safety to people. In order to prevent this, stem cells could be used to it. Scientists could experiment on a variety of adult stem cells and see the results. If the majority of the results are successful, then it could be experimented on animals, and then humans. By using this method, the costs and time required also reduces. (Tesar, Jenny)

** 3. What are the pros and cons? ** media type="custom" key="3903369" There are contrasting viewpoints of stem cell research. Most of the scientists think the use of embryonic stem cell research contributes to understand human development and the growth and the method of curing diseases. It has many positive ways of advance in biology. Although in this point people don’t know exactly how to cure; however it would be clear that in few years, the treatment of diseases would be developed. After once the medicine is widely spread to the public, then millions of people would be able to cure diseases. Some scientists think it is the greatest development in antibiotics.(Cell Repair) Furthermore, it would help us because currently, the number of patients that need to transplant organs are hundreds of thousands. It is obviously difficult to supply all of the organs. Now, by replacing stem cells, people could reduce the waiting and cure the disease more efficiently. (The Stem Cell Controversy)

Most of the opinions against it are related to moral issues. They think the use of blastocyst is murdering human life. They believe that destruction of the cell that has the potential of being a person is morally unacceptable. They focus on that no successful official cures have yet been produced by embryonic stem cell therapy, and question will it happen in the future. At every step of the therapy process, a lot of embryos are required. Perhaps it would be popular in the future because it would be able to treat every disease; it would be used both in medicines and hospitals. Many think it is using too much of it. In the religious point of view, people think the scientists are trying to discover things that are impossible, and consider as a sin. Because research on embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of a living human being, it is against God’s will.(The Stem Cell Controversy)

** 4. What effect does it have on the world? ** Stem cell research would give many effects in various areas. Scientifically, people would be able to cure diseases that aren't available today. This would promote more development in research and future implications. It would be considered as a huge one step forward in the history of biology. It also helps prevent the loss of population than before, and people would be able to live longer than before. The treatment of all diseases would lead to the increase of the average of human life. In a negative view, it could be interpreted as the acceleration of the aging society. When the time of stem cell therapy publicly has come, then there could be possible shortage of embryonic stem cells, which would bring another huge debate of it. Still, overall it is clear that stem cell research will bring a positive effect to the genetics side.

Stem cell research is still on debate in the governments. The views between the conservatives and the liberals are clashing, President Bush and the others, who are conservatives, are against the stem cell research. They state that stem cell should be considered as an individual life as any other organisms. Using the embryonic stem cells is same as destroying life, in terms of science. The conservatives mostly argue that individual life should be not used as a material of scientific research and experiments. Even though stem cell research is legal and is getting enough amount of support, they still question the purpose of it. Because the adult stem cell treatment is already used today, there should be no reason to do further research about embryonic stem cells. In these days, adult stem cells are able to treat 72 diseases. It could be seem enough; therefore, they do not get the reason of the funding from the government (Political Impacts).

On the contrary, the liberals support stem cell research. Recently, it has become an issue that President Obama ended up the ban of stem cell funding and allowing them. As you can see, the liberals have a positive thought of it. The liberals agree to stem cell research because they believe there are potential of finding the treatment for many diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and other genetic disorders. By discovering the treatments to the diseases, it could prevent the increase of victims in the future. By these contrasting views, stem cell research will remain as a hot issue for the next several years (Political Impacts).

The ethical issues will keep going on for this debate. Since it is a research related to the human body, the most common issue that is controversial is should embryos have to be respected or not. If stem cell therapy were used, then a lot of embryos would be used for the treatment of diseases. It would eventually lead to the abuse of embryos because there would be a lot of demands to the people. It would also mean they are destructing hundreds of thousands of cells that have the potential to become a human. Abusing will bring question to the value of human lives and would bring trouble. There are arguments clashing if using embryos are considered as abortion. Currently, people are standing in a conflict that if people should use abortion of embryos to obtain benefits or respect the cells and ban the stem cell research. It is a hard decision to choose either one; and both would contain positive effects and also defects. Ethically, there would be many opinions arise and would be influential around the world (The Perspective).

** 5. Conclusion **

In conclusion, I think stem cell research is a controversial topic because of these many areas. While it contributes to help the treatment of serious diseases and the development of antibiotics, it has also the issue that it makes the abortion of many lives. Although they are not completely developed as organisms, they have the potential of being into an individual life; therefore they are considered the same as humans. Many religious people think it is a research that is going against god because it is a murdering a life, which is a sin against it. Because people see and think the stem cell research in different perspectives, it leads to the debate of it. Overall, the stem cell research is controversial because of the issues about life and the development of curing disease. Even though it has the advantage of developing the treatment of diseases, it also has the problem which people have to admit embryo as an individual life. To solve and calm down the controversy, we should put effort on trying to understand other’s perspectives and find a solution that everyone could agree.

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