A. Why adult stem cell don't have the same potential

B. What adult stem cells can be used for

In order to understand the moral issues on stem cell research I must first define and clarify what a stem cell is, what it can be used for, how they are obtained, and why using adult stem cells isn't nearly as promising. Only after this will you be able to come to your own conclusion on whether or not stem cell research is ethical.

Stem cells are cells that have the ability to divide in culture and develop into specialized cells. Stem cells are pluripotent, which means they are capable of developing into almost any type of tissue but cannot develop into a full living organism because they are not totipotent. A totipotent cell is one that has the potential to become a living organism, it has this potential because it has all the necessary genes and DNA structures, and it is also what is formed after an egg has been fertilized. When stem

Stem cells are acquired from two sources, a human embryo and the fetal tissue from a terminated pregnancy. This is where the controversial part comes in. in the first process mentioned, an human egg taken from a consenting woman goes through in-vitro fertilization with the sperm of a consenting male adult, then a blastocyst is formed. Then the inner cell mass is isolated and cultured to produce a pluripotent stem cell line. In the second form of acquiring mentioned, tissue is taken off a terminated fetus from the area which would have developed into the testes or the ovaries. The reason why tissue is taken from that location is when a fetus is developing in the uterus, the area there does not develop until late in the pregnancy so the cells have the ability to develop into either testes or ovaries, meaning the cells are pluripotent. Even though the acquiring processes are different, the stem cells are very similar.

The primary goal of studying stem cells would be the identification of the factors involved in the cellular decision making process. Another potential application of stem cells would be for medicinal testing. Cell lines are currently used this way but

Some common words found in the essay are:
VII Bibliography, Parkinson's Alzheimer's, President Bush, Paul II, Introduction III, stem cells, stem cell, adult stem, pluripotent stem, cell research, adult stem cells, stem cell research, blood stem, cell considered multipotent, blood stem cell, stem cell considered, cells ability, testes ovaries, cells acquired, living organism,
Approximate Word count = 789
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)