Provided with the right mixture of signals, embryonic stem cells can develop into mature cells that can function as neurons, muscles, bone, blood along with other needed types of cells. Stem cells that have this flexibility are portrayed as pluripotent, in order to indicate their high potential to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types. A second attribute of embryonic stem cells is that they have the ability to remain in an undifferentiated state and to divide forever. This ability to self-renew means that essentially an unlimited numbers of identical, well-defined, genetically and genomically characterized stem cells can be produced in culture dishes for medical use (Human Embryonic Stem Cells, n.d.). President Obama has signed an executive order that overturned the policy that was put into place by Bush that limited federal tax dollars being used for embryonic stem cell research. This move has been hailed by advocates for those suffering from a host of afflictions, ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease, who believe that an expansion of stem-cell research could boost medical progress toward eradicating the debilitating diseases. However many conservatives have objected to the damage of human...
The research potential for the medical field that these cells provide is remarkable. The ethical argument on the other side is just as valid. The bottom line is that no matter which path is taken someone is going to be upset. It needs to be determined whether the use of these cells provides more a benefit than they do harm. It appears that the Presidential Administration feels that this is the case and has given their approval for this research to continue.
This often means expanding the role of the nurse in the modern medical environment. One of the most important signs of the way that nursing has changed to deal with the problems and possibilities of cloning and stem cell research is that nurses have become more "genetically aware." This means that the issue of genetics and stem cell research has become part of the knowledge that is required of
Unlike any specific adult cell, embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to form any adult cell, and can proliferate indefinitely in culture (Embryonic pp). Using fourteen blastocysts obtained from donated, surplus embryos produced by in vitro fertilization, James Thomson and a group of University of Wisconsin biologists established five independent stem cell lines in November 1998, the first time human embryonic stem cells had been successfully
Under the terms of Canada's proposed Assisted Human Reproduction Act outlined in September 22, 2003 issue of Health Law Review, it is not ethically acceptable to create human embryos specifically for research purposes, although "in cases where human embryos are created for reproductive purposes, and subsequently are no longer required for such purposes research involving human embryos may be considered to be ethically acceptable" if they meet certain criteria outlined
Stem Cell Research The debate on stem cell research is getting more heated. The controversial research practice is said to be conducted in the hopes that some of humanity's major diseases will one day be a thing of the past. Yet, it is also clear that the controversy on the living nature of the stem cells used makes the argument against such research much stronger. Stem cells contain human DNA, and have
In this sense technology turns human life into just another product that can be created in a laboratory and which has no intrinsic or deeper religious value or meaning. As John Paul II stated during a visit to America, "A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death" (Dart, 2001, p.
Protecting the rights of the one and sacrificing the lives of many is a sensitive subject, especially when the sides cannot even agree upon whether or not the one should have rights or not. It would seem that the establishment of researching guidelines that prevents the harming of a subject, for research purposes, has set a precedent, and that this violates right to know laws, as there is no
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