Stem-Cell Research - Term Paper Example

The practical use of blood stem use has been in existence for over 40 years with many clinical trials using tissue derived stem cells (Hug, 2010 104)Today stem cell research has developed into one of the most promising and influential fields of medical science. The nature of its experiments and methods, as well as the results, has also made it easily the most controversial. Its connection with cloning has opened it up to attacks from religious groups and with many believing that the science aims at enabling humans to play god.

Stem cells are cells with the ability to divide indefinitely and result in a variety of specialized cells in a process known as developmental plasticity. This ability is common in embryonic cells, and they give the cells the highest potential for growth. Moreover, stem cells can be categorized into three different groups based on their differential abilities. Namely, embryonic, adult, and foetal stem cells, it is worth noting that adult stem cells have only recently come to be discovered since the presupposition was they rarely contain stem cells, this has been proved wrong by recent research .

Tominipotent cells are to be found in exclusively in early embryos from an individual cell in this category, a complete organism can be formed. On the other hand, pluripotent cells exist as undifferentiated in blastocyst (Popular issues 2012). . Embryonic Stem Cells One of the distinguishing characteristics of the embryonic stem cell is that it can transform into any other cell ranging from brain to liver cells. The chief source of these cells is the fertilized eggs from couples who are going through the In Vitro Fertilization.

The 5 to 6 days old pluripotent embryos can differentiate into any one of the three germ layers (Appasani, 2010 pg 182) After the separation of the stem cells, replication of stem cell into stem cell lines follow that is a tedious process which does not guarantee results. Replication of stem cell lines may go on in culture dishes countless times and through a period of many years. Adult Stem Cells These can be found in both children and adults with the name setting them apart from the other kinds of stem cells.

Adult stem cells are evident in human beings, but the process of their isolation and identification is what tasks specialists in this field. Consequently, the there is no clear cut information on whether they have restrictions to a variety of cells in relation to single tissue type or if they can exist as any tissue type (University of Edinburg Para 6). Foetal Stem Cells Unlike the other cell types, the foetal stem is easier to collect and have a lower likelihood of rejection (University of Edinburg Para 9).

They are collected from aborted fetuses, the umbilical cord, or the placenta, however, Albeit considerably differentiated; they still have the potential to morph into other cell types making them excellent for transplant. However, the downside of these is that they can transmit condition such as leukemia that may not have been detected in the fetus. Besides, there is a plethora of moral and ethical issues, bearing in mind