There are many scientists around the world have been researching stem cells for over thirty years now and it is the spark of a lively debate. Many people think this type of research is completely inhumane, but many also see the potential of this research. Personally I think it is something that should be continued, as it will be an amazing asset to our entire society, maybe even the entire human race, if it is perfected.
Now some people reading this may not remember learning about these cells in their high school biology class. Well they are simply just cells that are not defined to any particular region of the body yet. This mean they can actually be made into anything that we really need. Ears, feet, legs, arms, you name it these things can be turned into it. However the process is obviously not that easy. The stem cell have to be taken from human embryos and then they have to be grown in a lab. The process takes a while but it can help people recover from diseases that we thought would be impossible to cure.
For example chronic heart disease is a very serious thing, and there are not many ways to treat it. The cells of the heart are diseased and damaged, the only way to help that patient to fully recover is to replace the cells. Stem cells could help us do that. If healthy heart cells were produced in a lab and then placed in the diseased heart, the patient could easily make a full recovery, something we don't have the capability to do yet, and we never will have the capability if we don't continue to fine tune the process of producing specific cells in a lab. This research could be used for many other diseases as well, including cancer, which is something that has surely affected all of our lives.
Now obviously there are many problems with this type of research, we haven't even began to unravel the possibilities of stem cells and we certainly don't know the consequences that is could cause in the future. Cell rejection is a big obstacle and is something scientists have to constantly work on. We are far from being able to use it in everyday life, but I believe it will end up bringing more great breakthroughs, than downfalls.
I understand that the argument of some people is that these cells actually have to be alive for scientists to take them from the embryos, therefore we are technically killing unborn children with this type of research, while I understand there is this side of the argument I cannot speculate based on religion. I will just say that I believe in the end this research will allow us to save and to greatly improve the lives of people who have life threatening diseases, and I think anything that can do that is worth the time and effort of our science community.
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