Just what exactly is stem cell research? Stem cell research is one of the fastest growing areas of medicine, because it holds so much potential for medical breakthroughs. One doctor said, "It is not unrealistic to say that stem cell research has the potential to revolutionize the practice of medicine. -Dr. Harold Varmus, former NIH director" (Best & Kellner, 2004, p. 214). Basically, stem cells can be reproduced in the laboratory, and these stem cells can be used to help fight a variety of diseases, as well as understand how diseases affect the human body and how cells reproduce and change. Stem cells themselves are basic body cells. Authors Best & Kellner note, "Stem cells are the primitive master cells of the body that differentiate into functions like skin, bone, nerve, and brain cells (the body produces over 200 cell

There are many advantages to funding stem cell research right now. First, costs always increase, and the longer scientists wait, the more expensive it will become. Most large companies will not fund the research on their own, and so, any research being done is by smaller research organizations, which may run out of funding before their research is completed. That means research will simply take that much longer, and valuable time may be wasted. Writer David Magnus notes, "It places the research in the hands of companies that have no products to sell and whose only assets are represented by the intellectual property they can claim, which may encourage those companies to hype spurious work to help attract needed venture capital" (Magnus, 2004). This could be dangerous to all Americans in the end, if the research is shoddy or questionable. Another very compelling reason for government-sponsored research is that the government could increase control over the research, which could ensure higher quality research and development, rather than under-funded research at smaller companies where results could be questionable.

That is one of the reasons the government should encourage stem cell research. With continued research, eventually, researchers and doctors will understand how stem cells can effectively be used to treat a variety of illnesses, and the research will lead to saving lives and finding cures for some of the world's most devastating fatal diseases. The government could also help ensure research is of the highest quality and will give the best overall results. It is important for medical research to continue and grow, because the world has always depended on valuable medical research to help cure a variety of devastating diseases, such as polio and yellow fever. Government-sponsored funding can also help ensure that the best doctors use the research in their own practices. That will give the American people more control over their health care and their lives. Good research can create better doctors by giving them more choices to treat their patients.

How does stem cell research apply to devastating and fatal diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also sometimes known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease?" The disease killed the legendary ballplayer at the age of 35 in 1941. Diseases like ALS attack brain cells and spinal cells so that the cells (motor neurons) cannot communicate with the muscles. Writer Harold Hopkins notes, "What we do know is that ALS generally affects the nerves leading from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord and brain stem to the muscles, resulting in a progressive weakening and wasting of those muscles [...]"

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Authors Kellner, David Magnus, Doctor Senate, Harold Hopkins, Joshua Lederberg, Disease Stem, Harold Varmus, Republican Tennessee, stem cell, Bruijn ALS, stem cell research, cell research, Alzheimer's Parkinson's, stem cells, kellner 2004, spinal cord, brain cells, diseases als, research government, motor neurons, adult stem, kellner 2004 215, providing research government, research government funding, funding quality physicians,
Approximate Word count = 1815
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)