Today, the topic of stem cells is a highly discussed, controversial one. It seems as though there is always something being said about new findings in stem cell research and what will be done with the newly-found information. One of the most conversed aspects of stem cell research is how stem cells can be used to treat potentially life-threatening conditions. Leukemia is one of the conditions being researched along with how stem cell therapy could help benefit the patients with it. In order to fully understand what is going on in the world of stem cell and leukemia research, one must first know what stem cells are and what leukemia is.
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, and leukemia cells form in the bone marrow like other normal blood cells. The exact causes of leukemia are unknown, but there are some known risk factors that may lead to leukemia. These include being exposed to radiation, smoking, undergoing chemotherapy, having a genetic disorder, having a number of blood disorders, and a family history of leukemia. There are two different categories of leukemia: chronic and acute. Chronic leukemia gets worse slowly, whereas acute leukemia gets worse quickly. Depending on the type of leukemia, the symptoms may not even be apparent. In chronic leukemia, it is not uncommon for patients to be totally unaware of their disease until a routine check-up. However, symptoms may be experienced right away in patients with acute leukemia. Some symptoms of leukemia include fever, night sweats, headaches, change of appetite, unexpected weight loss, bruising easily, bleeding easily, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, recurrent infections, and pain in the bones or joints. Conversely, these symptoms may not even be due to leukemia at all....
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...e going on today for leukemia, there is still no 100% guarantee for patients with the cancer. There is some controversy with conducting the research, especially with stem cells from the embryos and blastocysts. Some think that this is murder and shouldn’t be funded. Others think everything is all for the greater good. Now that you know the facts, where do you stand?
Works Cited
Genetic Science Learning Center. "Stem Cells." http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/stemcells/
Web MD. “Leukemia.”
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/leukemia-topic-overview
Medical News Today. “What Are Stem Cells?”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/stem_cell/whatarestemcells.php
Medicine Net. “Leukemia.”
http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/article.htm
How Stuff Works. “How Stem Cells Work.”
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cellular-microscopic-biology/stem-cell.htm
Stem Cells: What, How and Why? Stem cells are infinitely valuable when considering their potential applications in the medical profession. While current legislative restrictions have halted the development of new ?stem cell lines? to any agency or company that receives any form of governmental grants, there is no question that the medical profession is standing at the brink of a new era of technological advancements in healthcare and research.
...ns of a morally questionable nature. It is necessary that our practices remain ethical and that we uphold the value of a human life, as this is the cornerstone of human society. Embryonic stem cell research is one such operation that forces scientists, policy makers, and the larger society to define what constitutes a human life and to find an answer to the crucial question: Is it morally acceptable to violate the rights of a human life for the for the sake of medical progress?
This report does a fairly comprehensive job on educating the public to the definition of stem cells, describing them as “a diverse group of remarkable multipotent cells that are relatively undifferentiated and unspecialized cells of the body.” Stem cells have the capacity for unlimited self-renewal and the possibility to produce differentiated descendant cell types. The main in...
I think that stem cell research has advanced in so many ways, with all the discoveries being made, and the new possibilities being explored. Although it still remains unethical because embryonic cells are one of the sources of stem cells. Why is somebody else’s life more valuable than someone else? Just because an embryo cannot talk, doesn’t mean, its life has any less value than a normal human being.
In 2013 about 580,350 Americans were projected to die of cancer, almost 1,600 people a day. Cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the US, accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths (Cancer Facts). Doctors and scientists are always trying to discover new ways to help battle cancer as well as other diseases. Doctors have tried everything from plants to radiation to try and destroy cancerous cells. Instead of destroying them Scientists and doctors are now trying to replace the old cancerous cells. In order to replace these cells they will need new cells. Stem cell research is the newest way doctors are trying to help with diseases. There are different types of stem cells. Stem cells are cells found primarily in embryos, and they have not yet taken on the characteristics of any particular type of cell, such as bone, muscle tissue or brain matter. The newest research being done is with embryotic stem cells. Embryotic Stem cells have been used in medical therapies to aid patients with many types of diseases; that being said it is imperative that we continue researching, practicing, and funding these medical advancements.
Stem cell research can date back to 1956 and has lead to multiple medical breakthroughs. Stem cells are generic animal cells that can make copies of themselves indefinitely. Therefore, these cells have to ability to become any body part or organ (Cowan). But, getting this resource is what brings up a controversy. Scientists and researchers are gathering human embryos to further study and test stem cells and some people don’t agree with this. The end result of using embryonic stem cells is someone being able to walk again, someone remembering the names of their children, and someone being able to say that he beat cancer. Stem cell research is beneficial to society and should be accepted into labs all around the world.
The ethical issues behind the method in which stem cells are obtained out weigh the benefits of stem cell therapy. We should not try to play God, in the aspect of creation of living beings just to be sacrificed for the “betterment of mankind”. Many egregious acts have been committed under the guise of “the greater good”. This is one instance in which the ends do not justify the means.
Stem cells can help cure diseases, repair damaged organs, and replace the need for organ donors. Stem cells may play a major role in cancer research, treatment, and maybe even a cure. Using stem cells in better treatments for diseases can give economic gains for society. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 100 million suffer from diseases that eventually may be treated more effectively or even cured with embryonic stem cell research (“Stem Cell Transplant”). This may be the greatest opportunity to alleviate the suffering of humans. Stem cell research has a lot of potential; there is a long list of diseases and other conditions that stem cells may be able to treat and possibly one day
What if there was a cure for cancer or a treatment for spinal injuries? Would you support the research? What if there was a way that you could repair damaged nerves. Some believe that stem cells may hold the answers to some of these questions. What are stem cells and why should you or I even care about them? Some believe that they are a miracle treatment waiting to happen while others believe that stem cells are highly immoral. Why does so much controversy surround the issue? Why is the conversation of stem cells feared by some and praised by others? To some stem cells are the medical hopes for the future, something for us to hang on to as we do battle with major diseases that include cancer, Parkston’s disease and spinal injuries. To others stem cell researchers are murderers who are trying to play God’s hand. A many have pledged their support to stem cell research including a few well known celebrities. Reeves’, who was best known for his role in the early Superman movies, and J. Fox two well-known celebrities, have pledged to stem cell research, both have created a private fund for the research of stem cells. This celebrity however has not swayed everyone to support stem cell researches cause. Just as there are supporters of stem cells there are those who believe that the use of stem cells is immoral. Since the first stem cells were separated there have been doctors, religious groups and even some political figure head have shown their opposition for stem cell research. Even with the knowledge and promise that stem cells show many of those who truly oppose stem cells have not changed their mind. The question is are their reasons good enough to halt the research of stem cell or are they just holding back what will soon be inevi...
Over the past years, stem cell research has been very famous through the scientific community and the media. Stem cells are pluripotent cells that are present in every single organism on Earth. The power of stem cells are beyond imagination. Stem cells have the power to turn into any type of cells. Some examples are, blood cells, nerves, cardiac muscles, and the list goes on and on. The scientific community has recently taken a large interest in stem cells. They have used stem cells to treat horrible misfortunes that people have been diagnosed with. Some examples of the diseases that are being treated by the use of stem cells are, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, spinal cord issues, strokes, diabetes, damaged organs, and even cancer! However, despite the infinite potential for medical treatments, the topic of stem cells is surrounded by enormous amounts of controversy. The questions that feed the controversy are about how the stem cells are acquired and about how the gained knowledge would be used. However, it is necessary for mankind to keep stem cell research alive in order to save lives while taking care of any unethical topics about it.
Research on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. This promising area of science is also leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is often referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine. There is genuine scientific excitement over the concept of using the body's own cellular building blocks to regenerate damaged or ageing organs. Stem cells are one of the most fascinating areas of biology today. But like ...
For decades, biologists have been using stem cells to figure out possible cures for different diseases and even prevent them. Stem cells are cells that can become useable in certain tissues in the body (according to an infant), or tissue cells that are already found in blood, bones, the brain, and skin (in adults or children). Stem cells are being used for patients with lymphoma (begins in the immune system), leukemia (cancer of white blood cells), and other types of blood disorders.
Somatic stem cell therapy is one of the "powers of stem cells." When leukocytes, also known as white blood cells, begin to behave abnormally a condition known as leukemia forms within the body. One way to cure this disease is by a stem cell bone marrow transplant. First, doctors use chemotherapy to kill most of the abnormal cells, and then they replace the diseased bone marrow with a donor's healthy bone marrow. This website explains the process of treating leukemia, an otherwise deadly disease, curable with the help of stem cells. I plan to mention the new discoveries involving stem cells, such as the stem cell-rich umbilical cords in newborn infants. In the new procedures, the recipient has a significantly lower chance to reject the stem
The mention of stem cell therapy is definite to draw perplexed reactions from those who know nothing about the subject. Maximum of us have been informed that stem cells are gathered from a human embryo which is devastated in the process. But, the fact is that these therapies as practiced with categorical success are based on the use of mesenchymal stem cells gathered from the patient's own bone marrow and blood. There is a brilliant reason for this, fat removed from the ethical constraints revolving around fetal cells. For the most applied of contemplations, fetal stem cells are very poor weaponries against any complaint in that they are brilliant producers of their own ailment i.e. cancer. Fetal cells divide so speedily, that the risk of cancer
Scientist believe stem cells may have the potential to help us understand, and possibly cure some of the most threatening diseases and conditions which effect many people today. Many scientists, doctors, families and loved-ones and patients have hoped for this change, however stem cell research has brought up various controversies around the globe.