Stem Cell Research: Beneficial or Dangerous?

552 Words2 Pages

Over the past decade scientist and the U.S government have been debating about funds for stem cell research (SCR), the amount spent depends on who is in office. The Democratic Party fully supports SCR, but the Republican Party somewhat opposes the concept of SCR, arfuing it violates the Christian principle of life. As a result, this topic is considered controversial, but also beneficial if allowed. Despite the controversy, SCR should be well funded for medicinal use, because blank stem cells (SC) can be used to regenerate bones and muscle tissue, they can be used to control or even reverse neurodegenerative disease, and because they can be used for therapeutic cloning.
The first benefit of SCR is the ability to regenerate bones and muscle tissue. Adult SC have the ability to regenerate broken muscle tissue and bones at a very slow pace, but this process accelerates the growth rate. The process requires a blank SC and a muscle tissue extraction, then the black SC will become a tissue cell. When that happens, it is then injected to the patient. Once a new scar tissue is formed, it must mature or else it is prone tear again. For an adult, muscle maturation takes a minimum of three years, but according to Paola Filomeno, a regenerative medicine researcher, “After a tendon injury, the tendon normally heals through scar tissue formation, which may take up to 1 to 2 years to mature”. With this being said, if people can heal their injuries quicker that will mean that they will able to get back to work faster. In the long run, if SCR continues to be funded, disability checks and unemployment rates will go down, therefore saving the government money that can be used for something else.
Next, using blank SCs can control or even reverse ...

... middle of paper ...

...uscle tissue regeneration, the potential cure for neurodegenerative disease, and the potential use of therapeutic cloning. SC is the future of regenerative medicine, so why hinder the research if it has a lot of potential to save lives?

Works Cited

Filomeno, Paola, Victor Dayan, and Cristina Touriño. "SC Research And Clinical Development In Tendon Repair." Muscles, Ligaments & Tendons Journal (MLTJ) 2.3 (2012): 204-211. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
FADEL, HOSSAM E. "Developments In SC Research And Therapeutic Cloning: Islamic Ethical Positions, A Review."Bioethics 26.3 (2012): 128-135. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014
Brown, Alistair. "Therapeutic Cloning: The Ethical Road To Regulation Part I: Arguments For And Against & Regulations." Human Reproduction & Genetic Ethics 15.2 (2009): 75-86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

More about Stem Cell Research: Beneficial or Dangerous?

Open Document