Stem Cell Research
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Stem cells are relatively primitive cells that have the ability to divide rapidly to produce more specialized cells. Stem cells in the embryo are capable of huge variation in the kinds of tissues they make, reproduce rapidly and have attracted interest of researchers for decades. “Stem cell research has the potential to make advances in the treatment of cancer and diabetes that are likely to lead to breakthroughs in gene therapy.” (OReilly The Creation) One day, stem cells may also be used to create organs for organ transplants. However embryonic stem cells are hard to get hold of in humans – you need a supply of human embryos, which requires either breaking the law in some countries or applying for complex licenses in others. Despite the huge benefits of stem cell research, some people disapprove of it seeing an embryo as a human being with the rights of an individual.
Embryonic stem cells are also hard to control and hard to grow in a reliable way. “They have “minds” of their own, and embryonic stem cells are often unstable, producing unexpected results as they divide, or even cancerous growths.” (Dorff) Human embryonic stem cells usually cause an immune reaction when transplanted into people, which means cells used in treatment may be rapidly destroyed unless they are protected, perhaps by giving medication to hold back the immune system.
“One reason for intense interest in human cloning technology is so-called therapeutic cloning.” (Dorff) This involves combining an adult human cell with a human egg from which the nucleus has been removed. The result is a human embryo which is dividing rapidly to try and become an identical twin of the cloned adult. If implanted in the womb, such cloned embryos have the potential to be born normally as cloned babies, although there are many problems to overcome, including premature aging and mutations. Therapeutic cloning could allow scientists to take embryonic stem cells from the cloned embryo, throw the rest of the embryo away and use the stem cells to generate new tissue which is genetically identical to the person cloned. It would be very expensive and cause many questions and challenges.
There are other obstacles standing in the way of stem cell use. One is the problem of rejection. If a patient is injected with stem cells taken from a donated embryo, his or her immune system may see the cells as foreign invaders and launch an attack against them. “Using adult stem cells could overcome this problem somewhat, since stem cells taken from the patient would not be rejected by his or her immune system.” (Watson) But adult stem cells are less flexible than embryonic stem cells and are harder to manipulate in the lab.
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