The Application of Stem Cells in Research and Therapy

The Application of Stem Cells in Research and Therapy
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The Application of Stem Cells in Research and Therapy
Abstract
Stem cells can be described as a special type of cells in human bodies produced by the bone marrow. The unique aspect of stem cells is their ability to regenerate in various kinds of blood cells. Over the years, stem cells have been applied widely in the field of medicine in tissue reengineering and regenerative medicine. Scientists in the medical domain first discovered that they could generate stem cells from the embryos of a mouse in 1981. However, concrete research started in 1998. Critics of this research have raised concerns about whether it is morally right to extract stem cells from embryos, and this has been a hotly contested issue. Therefore, this paper explores the controversies associated with the application of stem cells and the benefits of using stem cells. This paper is subdivided into five sections. The first section is the introduction, which gives a brief overview of stem cells. The second section is the background section. The third section is the controversies section which discusses the various controversies associated with stem cell research. The fourth section is about the benefits related to stem cell research. The fifth section is the conclusion section, which summarizes the previous sections and provides a conclusive statement of the issues discussed in the paper.
Introduction
The unique aspect of stem cells is their ability to regenerate in various kinds of blood cells (Zakrzewski et al., 2019). It was during the 1950s that scientists realized the existence of stem cells and their unique properties and ability to be applied to various medical issues. Stem cells have been recognized for their potential to aid in the treatment of certain chronic diseases while being equally criticized. There is a need for more research to be conducted on the actual contributions of stem cells in the medical sector and the impact of stem cell therapy. With much more research, it will be easier to evaluate its benefits concretely and have more confidence in its applicability. Therefore, this paper adds to this research by providing more insightful information on stem cell applicability and therapy.
Stem Cell Background
One of the most popular topics today in the medical field is stem cell research and therapy. Notably, stem cells can be described as unspecialized human body cells easily adaptable to any organism cell (Mully & Keller, 2008). The categorization of stem cells varies from cell to cell, in addition to their physical shape. Totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent, and oligopotent stem cells are among the five kinds of stem cells discovered by research (De et al., 2015). Pluripotent cells in humans have resulted in comprehensive research on their applicability, with countries globally taking an active part in their research (Robinton & Daley, 2012). More countries are engaging in embryonic extractions of pluripotent to conduct their research more than at any other time since they have realized their ability to revolutionize the medical sector, especially in developing appropriate drugs to treat certain illnesses. Before this finding, there was no debate among stem cell researchers. The current legal and ethical debates directly result from the discovery of embryonic stem cells. Despite these issues, embryonic stem cell research has demonstrated significant promise for treating chronic illnesses. If additional research were allowed, we would likely discover even more special applications for embryonic stem cells.
Discussion
Controversies
As much research continues in stem cell applicability and therapy, it has come with a significant share of controversies. One of the most notable controversies has been associated with the ethics related to the extraction of embryonic stem cells. Many critics believe it goes against human beings' general ethical conduct and argue that it is not suitable to use embryos for medical research. Some equate this to abortion and believe that if we condemn acts such as abortion, this one too should be condemned. No remains of in vitro fertilization should be used, nor should scientists destroy human embryos just so they can use them for scientific purposes (Yamanaka, 2020). Critics believe it is not Godly and therefore, unethical. Secondly, safety issues have been raised. Most critics have cited situations where the application of stem cells has ended up being disastrous on the patient's outcomes and hence believe that their efficacy levels are not high enough to guarantee safe use in treating humans. Thirdly, stem cell research has been criticized for its funding mechanisms. Most people believe there should be genuine ways to fund stem cell research rather than making it a political issue. In contrast, others have even stated that much more important medical research projects can benefit from such funding. Equally, there have been controversies related to the commercialization aspect of Stem cells. Critics cite that there is a lack of proper regulation of stem cells and no proper mechanism to dictate who has exclusive rights to stem cells. This raises issues related to intellectual property. Critics are concerned that without proper regulation, the safety and quality of stem cells can be highly compromised and hence not safe. Notably, the controversies have raised severe concerns about the medical risks associated with stem cell applicability and necessitated continued research in this niche.
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