IndexIntroductionArguments forArguments againstEvaluationConclusionIntroductionCurrently there are still numerous diseases in the world for which there is not yet a known cure. Type 1 diabetes, neurological diseases, and the effects of a stroke or heart attack are all examples of cases where an organ has been partially destroyed or damaged and there is not yet a way to cure this problem. Stem cell research has shown that stem cells have the ability to develop and specialize into many different cell types within the body. The definition of a stem cell is an “undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that has the capacity to give rise to multiple cells of the same type and at least one specialized and differentiated cell type”. The two main sources of stem cells come from adult body tissue, known as adult stem cells (ASCs), and from embryos during the blastocyst stage, known as embryonic stem cells (ESCs) Daniel Murrell, M. (2018). ASCs are multipotent or unipotent, meaning they have a limited ability to differentiate into specialized cells. ESCs are known to be pluripotent or totipotent, meaning they have the ability to differentiate into any specialized cell. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Stem cell research dates back many years, with the first successful bone marrow transplant, involving ASC, performed in 1956. Through extensive research, in 1998, a method was discovered that allows scientists of being able to take stem cells from human embryos and grow them in the laboratory. However, many successful stem cell transplants have been performed using ASC in the past; there is still a lot of unknown information about the use of ESC. The knowledge and theories already discovered through research present unlimited potential in the medical world. While this is a very exciting prospect for scientists and anyone suffering from an incurable or degenerative disease, there are still many technical problems in the way. These include ensuring that the stem cells differentiate into the desired cell types, that the stem cells are not rejected by the recipient, that they do not cause any harm, and many other issues. Numerous studies conducted on ESCs have shown promising results on the ability of ESCs to repair and improve myocardial function in cardiac disease models. However, before this information can be transferred into a clinical setting, there is still a large amount of unknown or uncertain information that must be overcome through more intensive research. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the use and research of ESCs. The ESC controversy has led several countries to regulate ESC research in many different ways. The most public objection to ESCs arises because ESCs are made up of cells found in a blastocyst which is technically known as one of the earliest stages of human life. There is huge controversy over how scientists obtain embryonic stem cells, as they often come from a woman's fertilized egg, leftover from the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process (Mayo Clinic). The process of harvesting embryonic stem cells involves the destruction of the human embryo in a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer. This creates a lot of controversy and debate about stem cells as many people question the moral ethics involved in the research. Topics for Many scientists and researchers are veryenthusiastic about the infinite amount of possibilities surrounding embryonic stem cells. The main reason for excitement is due to the medical benefits of regenerative medicine and a large number of diseases that could be cured using these ESCs. There are many diseases that still exist today and currently have no cure, such as cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. Now there is a high possibility that a cure can be found for these diseases through the use of ESCs, which will be able to repair or replace damaged tissues. Embryonic stem cell research is currently only conducted in the laboratory, and much more research is needed before it can be used in public health. However, there have been many high-profile figures who have publicly supported the use of stem cells to treat diseases. An example is Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman, who became quadriplegic after a horse riding accident. Christopher Reeve became an advocate of stem cell research to try to cure spinal cord injuries. Although he did not live long enough to see whether stem cell research could help the paralyzed, he donated a lot of money and lobbied for scientists to continue research on ESCs to eventually cure injuries like his. own. Although the Christian point of view states that "life begins and new souls are born as conception", it also believes that it is right to use stem cells as long as they were not created exclusively for this purpose or if the embryos are destined to be destroyed anyway, because do not use them so that someone can benefit from their short existence. This is called the “nothing is lost” principle, since discarded embryos will die soon anyway, so if they are used in research, something good might come of it. One view often seen as extremist is that of utilitarianism. Their view is “The greatest good of the greatest number”. This means they believe that the potential for embryonic stem cells to help so many people outweighs the fact that human life is being destroyed. They argue that blastocytes are just a group of cells and therefore cannot be considered human life. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is responsible for licensing and monitoring clinics carrying out in vitro fertilization (IVF) and human embryo research. It is also responsible for regulating the conservation of embryos. Scientists can only use stem cells that have not been developing for more than 14 days and must be able to demonstrate that the research cannot be conducted by any other method. This deems the research ethical in some people's eyes as embryos at this stage cannot yet feel pain as the neural system has not developed. Leftover frozen embryos taken from IVF can only be used with the consent of the donors.Arguments againstThe main reason why many people do not agree with ESC research is that it leads to the death of an embryo and this violates many different religious and personal beliefs and points of view. Many people believe that scientists have the ability to "play God," meaning they can create and destroy life at will, and this creates major public ethical questions. A major public figure who made his views known was President George W. Bush as he had very strong pro-life religious views. This led him to ban any funding for stem cell research in 2001; this ban was later lifted byPresident Barrack Obama. Another publicly debated debate is allowing scientists to destroy human embryos for research purposes. The reason there is conflict in this area is that people believe it is a slippery slope and argue about where the line would be drawn between allowing these procedures and allowing the killing of human fetuses to harvest tissue or allowing scientists to clone human beings. There are also issues surrounding the procedure of creating life in a Petri dish, as this is also seen as another slippery slope that could lead to the cloning of humans. In 1997, a cloning technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer was used to clone a sheep, more famously known as Dolly the sheep. This same technique is still used today for reproductive purposes or to produce embryonic cells for research. This raises great public concern about the possibility of a human being being cloned. Many groups believed human cloning was intolerable due to ethical concerns. Over 30 countries have completely banned any form of human cloning, and 15 countries, such as the United Kingdom, have banned human reproductive cloning but allow therapeutic cloning research. Many people oppose the use of ESCs as they believe that there is much more potential in ASCs and umbilical cord cells than is yet known and should be studied much more thoroughly before moving to using ESC. Recent research has shown that the ASC has the potential to transform into the equivalent of an ESC. This research means that it may not even be necessary to create or destroy an embryo to obtain ESCs. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells which represent an alternative method for harvesting ESCs. The use of these induced pluripotent stem cells and other advances in stem cell technology are slowly enabling a change in people's attitudes towards ESC research. This is due to the fact that these methods do not actually involve killing an embryo and therefore eliminate the unethical side of the procedure involved. Although the publicity of embryonic stem cell research in the media gives hope to many people with degenerative diseases, there is currently no concrete evidence that these ESCs work in the human body. ESC research may actually give sick people a sense of false hope. This field of biotechnology has made enormous promises while achieving almost nothing. Very few studies using ESCs have been conducted in humans, and none of these have produced significant results. The media can often portray ESC research in a biased way to entice the public to support ESC research. There are actually many more medical advances and treatments being made using ASC and yet, reports on the internet suggest that “ESCs have the advantage over ASC in their ability to differentiate more.” Statements like this are displayed publicly despite the fact that ASC transplants have been used for many years now and that ESC transplants have not yet been successfully completed on a human. Evaluation ESC research in the scientific world has unlimited potential to cure degenerative diseases. The key word, however, is potential because, despite years of intense research and millions of pounds invested, there is almost no concrete evidence that these cells can be used to treat diseases in the human body. There have been no transplants or effective treatments for degenerative diseases.