Persuasive Essay On Embryonic Stem Cells

Kristen Stehle

Mrs. Brown

Biology

02 February 2016

Dear Mr. President,

Hello my name is Kristen Stehle, and I am a famous scientist that does crucial work requiring the use of Embryonic Stem Cells. I have recently been asked to spearhead a letter writing campaign to the president arguing for funding and availability of embryonic stem cells.

UNIQUE PROPERTIES

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the potential to separate to become specialized in structure and function into a wide variety of cell types. Stem cells are different from any other kind of cells in the body. All stem cells have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give

rise to specialized cells. Stem cells are able to divide and renew themselves for long periods. Unlike some cells in the body like muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells are not likely to replicate themselves like stem cells replicate many times. Stem cells are known as unspecialized cells. Stem cells do not have tissue specific structures that allow it to perform specialized functions. Stem cells can also give rise to specialized cells. The process by which an unspecialized stem cells give rise to specialized stem cell is called differentiation. During this process the cell will go through many stages becoming more specialized at each stage.
MAJOR DIFFERENCES
Embryonic and adult stem cells each have advantages and disadvantages in regards to possible use for cell based regenerative therapies.

One of the major differences between the two stem cells is their different abilities in the number and type of cells they can become. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to be any body cell because they are known to be pluripotent. On the other hand adult stem cells are thought to be limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. For example, you can only make muscle cells from adult stem cells found in

muscle.
CURRENT SOURCES
There are three main sources of human embryonic stem cells. Already existing embryonic stem cell lines, Embryos that are left unused after in vitro fertilization procedures the so called “spare” embryos, and embryos are created by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer technique for the purpose of conducting research.
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
Embryonic stem cells are used throughout the scientific community for many reasons.

You are able to use embryonic stem cells in the scientific community because the stem cells have the ability to produce replacement tissue such as muscle, bone and nervous tissue and would revolutionize medicine. Human stem cells are currently being used to test new drugs. All types of new medications are tested for safety on differentiated cells generated from human pluripotent cell lines. Other kinds of cell lines have a long history of being used in this way. For example, cancer cell lines are used to screen potential anti-tumor drugs. As for today, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace ailing or destroyed tissue. Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid

arthritis.
GLOBAL OPINIONS
The united states is only one of many countries playing an important role in stem cell research. Several European and Asian countries have become leading centers for the study of stem cells and their possible uses. China restricts human reproductive cloning but allows the creation of human embryos for research and therapeutic purposes. France prohibits reproductive cloning and the creation of embryos for research purposes. Germany has one of the most restrictive policies for human embryonic stem cell research. Italy strictly limits embryonic stem cell research.
CONCLUSION
Embryonic stem cells is a major benefit to many countries including the united states. By testing these cells we are always learning new things that can help and benefit the medical community. It would be greatly appreciated if you would take into consideration for funding the availability of the use of embryonic stem cells.