Internet Marketing BlogInternet Business Marketing Tips Blog

There is a huge morality question concerning the use of human embryos for stem cell research that claims their life. The main interest in stem cell research comes from the possibility to develop treatments and cures for the irrecoverable diseases that plague humanity such as Cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s, heart attacks and so on. Yet, lots of pro-life supporters who argue against stem cell research are unaware of the fact that not all lab procedures are harmful to embryos. Even if they have a lower biological potential, adult Stem Cells for instance represent a great study material and a constant replacement for embryonic samples.

Unlike adult stem cells, embryonic stem groups can develop into absolutely any type of cells specific to the body. Moreover, stem cell research points out that embryonic material is more suitable and useful for nervous system therapies. Bad bits can be identified for embryonic stem cells as well because the immune system could reject the transplant. This is actually the trap that many parents are not aware of when storing stem cells from the umbilical cord blood in banks as an insurance policy for the future health of their child.

The truth is that stem cell research has more to do before real treatments can be performed in full safety and knowledge of the outcome. The only kind of stem cell transplant that is no longer an issue or secret for the medical world is bone marrow transplantation, that has been practiced for almost fifty years now with great success. Other than this case, stem cell research cannot so far boast with the development of therapies that have a support in the treatment of human health problems. For the moment, stem cell research tries to find alternative sources for cells, other than embryos.

A great success was reputed by stem cell research in 2007 when three stem cell lines were created at the Advanced Cell Technology Institute without causing any harm to parenting embryos. Such results of stem cell research have been unique so far in the world, but more novelties seem to change the evolution of experimental medicine. In the same year, 2007, it was discovered that the amniotic fluid in which the fetus grows in the womb contains stem cells that can differentiate and develop into organs, bones, nerves, muscles or blood vessels. This new tissue resource could increase the possibility to develop methods for the treatment of malfunctioning or injured organs.

Stem cell lines represent families of cells that divide on a constant basis resulting from a unique parent group of Stem Cells that replicate extensively. Most of the time, stem cell lines grow in pre-created environments and serve for research purposes. A similarity with the womb conditions is necessary in order to create viable embryonic cell lines, because the embryos can only develop in the presence of nutrients matched to their needs. The stem cell lines that appear from the division will carry on the multiplication process if they are safe from interferences that cause differentiation. The number of stem cell lines available for distribution to researchers is not known at the moment.

According to the American National Institute of Health, the total number of stem cell lines is twenty-one. While those derived from embryonic biological material are the most widely appreciated, there are also adult stem cell lines that work well for research purposes. Good results have also been reported with research on stem cell lines derived from umbilical cord blood. The only problem with this kind of lineage is the genetic imprint included in the lineage, and this specificity limits the experiments, as they are not functional for the treatment of genetic disorders for instance.

Scientists claim that stem cell lines may also be developed from somatic cells that have been reprogrammed into becoming unspecialized all over again. The main benefit of such stem cell lines comes from the fact that the DNA of the donor is present in the stem cells so that the new biological material may be used efficiently as a therapy without painful procedures like bone marrow extraction. The main efforts of the medical research sector are directed towards developing media for the cultivation of stem cell lines without any use of animal ingredients.

Study patterns for the development of stem cell lines are available in large number, and emphasis now falls on the necessity to create stem cell cures as ethically as possible. For example, things would be different if stem cells could be collected from living tissues without harming them in any way. This would be the answer to all the prolifers’ protests against the use of human embryos for research, and no homicide doubt would cloud research. Although many other people only refer to embryos as human beings when they develop at superior stages, the debate remains open and opinions are definitely divided.

Stem cell funding has become a priority for many research institutes, organizations and even governments, if we consider the efforts being made to come up with treatments for all sorts of irrecoverable diseases. The money goes to regenerative medicine institutes that commit to the research in the field of stem cell biology for the purpose of developing cures and viable therapies for the future. Ethical questions and concerns have always been fired in relation with stem cell research because of the controversy related to the embryos. Pro-lifers are strongly opposing all the lab tests during which embryos die or get discarded.

Certain organizations keep a close watch on the progress made with the stem cell funding they provide. CIRM for instance gives millions of dollars in the form of stem cell funding to Stanford’s Institute both for clinical studies and specialized projects planned over a two or four-year period. Part of the funding goes for research in the transplantation of Stem Cells while others in the pioneer treatment of autoimmune diseases such as sclerosis or scleroderma. The National Institute of Health is one other financial supporter of research centers that focus on stem cell biology.

Moreover, lots of other smaller societies and associations finance research: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Cancer Society, the Diabetes Foundation and several others. These groups act in the interest and on behalf of disease-specific groups that expect solutions from the achievements and findings of stem cell therapy. Moreover, it is together with such financial supporters that one institute or another designs clinical trials and group tests for patients declared irrecoverable. For the moment, stem cell research passes a new phase of development with the elimination of the ban for stem cell research performed by Obama’s government in March 2009.

Consequently, we may expect a new stage of stem cell funding in the near future given the boost medical research centers received. There are clear justifications for the large sums of money necessary to research. Well, the demands and challenges of experimental science comes from the necessity of using advanced technologies. The biological material, the laboratory equipment, the qualified personnel, the special work environment and overall gear necessary for research cost a huge amount of money, and we’d be faced with a stagnation of research without the massive investments in this medical branch.

Due to the great medical potential specific to Stem Cells, many therapies have high treatment hopes and expectations. So far, tests have proved that stem cell cures are the solution for life-claiming injuries and diseases. The mechanism on which the use of stem cell cures depends, is the possibility of these cells to differentiate and develop into cells with specific functions adequate for a certain tissue or organ. Hence, regeneration is possible if stem cells are injected into a tissue or planted in a wound.

Although limited in number and extent, for the moment, stem cell cures do exist. Other than the performance of bone marrow transplants that is common and widely practiced, the rest of the stem cell treatments are costly and experimental. Stem cell cures are presently being tested for diabetes, muscular damage, Parkinson’s disease, cardiac problems, cancers, Alzheimer and many others. This means that the stem cell cures can be used both for curative and regenerative therapies. How does tissue regeneration function? Well, in order to eliminate the appearance of a scar, stem cells have to be implanted in the wound where they will start to differentiate.

Stem cell cures have been developed from the umbilical cord blood and they are generally used in the treatment of blood Cancer such as leukemia or lymphoma. The traditional cancer treatment based on chemotherapy destroys the blood formating cells in the bone marrow. Without a stem cells transplant the recovery is very difficult or even impossible. All one needs under the circumstances is a matched donor to take the stem cells from and transplant them into the patient’s spine to stimulate the blood formation process. Besides the basic bone marrow transplant, the rest of the stem cell cures remain only potential treatments.

Stem cell cures could become available in the treatment of brain damage after stroke episodes. Head injuries could thus become treatable if the brain stem cells are stimulated to divide and differentiate more quickly. Animal tests have also demonstrated that stem cell cures may be the answer to all sorts of tumors. Most of the cancer treatments are designed to destroy the malignant cells, but new researches based on stem cell studies give hopes that the development of the tumor could be prevented in the first place.

The constant blood crisis and the low number of donors that many medical units complain about could be solved if scientists manage to come up with a method of creating blood out of human Stem Cells. Experiments and trials have been made at various research institutes worldwide, and so far, scientists have managed to come up with a kind of immature stem cell blood. Research is in the early stages and the blood cells obtained by such means may never be adequate to substitute blood donation. Another issue here is the sterility of the so-called artificial stem cell blood that would be totally free of diseases.

The fact that one day mankind could produce blood in laboratories seems quite distant and unlikely in some people’s opinion. So far, only speculations can be made in relation to stem cell blood because experts cannot say whether their research will prove an incremental step forward or just another project without perspective or clear safe finality. Medical units continue to encourage and support blood donation because it remains the only possibility for surgery, transplants and other interventions. Stem cell blood formation is financed in several laboratories worldwide, and money will continue to flow towards such experimental institutions.

Another issue worth analyzing in relation to stem cell blood is the collection of umbilical cord blood as an alternative to the artificial creation of this vital fluid. The procedure is widely practiced and more and more parents believe in the possibility to solve future health problems, thanks to the umbilical cord stem cells stored in private or public banks. The main problem here is directed against private stem cell blood banks that that have transformed blood collection and storage into a lucrative business.

Can scientists provide guarantees for treatments considered experimental? Yes, the potential provided by the rich umbilical stem cell blood could be infinite, but research has not reached final conclusions. You may be paying a lot of money for the storage of the stem cells and in fact there is a chance that they won’t prove useful when it comes to be implemented for treatment. The controversy will not be over too soon, and stem cell blood remains a pivotal element and major issue related to stem cell research conducted all over the world.

Human Stem Cells represent cellular formations that have not assumed a body function yet; they first grow in embryonic tissues when the body is developing, and more groups of specialized cells are necessary, but they happen to be part of adult tissues as well. No recovery from disease, injury or decay would be possible without these human stem cells that activate the moment they are needed. Human stem cells now represent the medical hope for the treatment of irrecoverable diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, strokes, Parkinson’s disease and lots of others. And if science makes enough progress such achievements will be possible.

Most of the research conducted on human stem cells has used biological material taken from human embryos that would get killed in the process. Since this practice caused lots of controversies and debates, it was banned for almost eight years in the United States. Presently, efforts are being made to develop a technique that would allow skin cells to be converted into induced pluripotent stem cells instead of the embryonic ones. At the moment, views and opinions remain biased, as many people tend to see a real human person in the fertilized encounter between an ovum and a spermatozoon.

Adult human stem cells are not subject to controversy but they somehow limit research because they don’t have the same almost infinite potential of embryonic cells. In the mature form, stem cells can only specialize as certain types of cells with definite functions, and therefore, they cannot be part of the same unlimited number of options provided by embryo research. From the ethical perspective things are pretty difficult: how moral is it to stop the physiological evolution into a human being for the sake of science? And on the other hand, the other part of the controversy is the creation of panacea by such sacrifices.

Although in the testing part goes great and, human stem cells seem to be efficient treatments, lots of clinical trials have more to go through before being complete. There are still lots of mysteries to unravel and things to understand. For instance, we still don’t know where adult human stem cells come from, even if things seem to be clear in relation with the embryonic cultures, not the same thing can be said about adult stem cell studies. Such an example is not at all singular, as there are many other blank spaces that science needs to fill before discovering the cure for all diseases and the fountain of youth.

As it is easy to understand from their name, embryonic Stem Cells come from embryos. Their origin is in the cellular balls called blastocysts that represent the first stage of development before the growth of a fetus. The main source is from eggs fertilized in vitro and don’t get transferred to a woman’s womb. The genetic matter becomes available for research only if the owner agrees to donate the embryos. Besides in vitro fertilization procedures, embryonic stem cells are also grown as part of laboratory cultures. All sorts of challenges and difficulties appear in the artificial production of embryonic stem cells, and the inefficiency of embryonic cell lines is often brought into discussion.

The embryonic stem cells that grow in cultures and subcultures divide without differentiation, preserving their unspecialized status for more than six months. Specialists talk of an embryonic stem cell line, when all the cells have proliferated in the culture while remaining unspecialized and genetically normal. Stem cell batches are afterwards frozen and stored before being transferred to other research units. How are embryonic stem cells identified? Although tests are conducted both on animal and human embryonic stem cells, there is no singular group of features that may characterize human cell groups.

Embryonic stem cells are usually analyzed under the microscope and this represents the main procedure to determine their self-renewal and long term growth potential. Further investigations involve the presence of specific proteins that are normally produced by unspecialized or undifferentiated cells. Embryonic stem cells can also be identified by the analysis of the chromosomes which also determines the health status of the cells. Scientists have no other ways of detecting genetic mutations or establishing whether the cells evolution is normal. Thus, precision and care in the performance of the laboratory routine is a rule of professional conduct strictly followed.

The possibility to use embryonic stem cells for the regeneration of organs or body tissues comes from the scientific possibility to manipulate the biological material and make the cells differentiate according to the needs. The specialization of the cells is controlled by the insertion of special genes, the change of the growing environment, the modification of the cultures and so on. At present, research is still in progress and results are still not conclusive enough to allow the transplant of artificially grown cells into the human body for the treatment of various diseases but the future seems to be bright in this direction.

Embryonic stem cell research has revealed the different potential in embryonic and adult Stem Cells. The number of limitations in terms of curative therapeutic applications is higher in the case of adult stem cells that cannot develop into a too large number of tissues. Moreover, the rarity, the collection difficulty and the challenge of growing them in cultures make the biggest impediments for adult stem cells. Therefore, the highest emphasis falls on embryonic stem cell research, most medical hopes come from this direction. The transplant rejection nevertheless remains the most serious problem to be overcome in clinical trials.

Embryonic stem cell research was banned in American during the Bush administration. The new American president, Barrack Obama, has raised the ban in March 2009, giving a new push forward to medical tests. Scientists are unsure about what to expect from embryonic stem cell research in terms of future promises because the full potential or the eventual risks are not known. Apparently, it is in such futuristic remedies that the cure for the most devastating diseases may be found. If a person immobilized in a wheel chair because of spinal cord injury can walk again, then, hopes can be high for a number of other diseases.

Embryonic stem cell research makes the subject of many debates and controversies worldwide. It is the moral side of research and the way it disposes of human embryos that lots of people questions. The biological material usually comes completed fertilization projects, where the remaining embryos are donated for scientific purposes. The pro-life movement that opposes embryonic stem cell research brings lots of arguments against the use of such material for scientific purposes. There is life involved, and scientists are playing God with it, ending or allowing it to continue as it suits their observational purposes.

For the moment, embryonic stem cell research has a lot of stages to go through. Small steps are taken every day in the direction of curing diseases that have so far been considered irrecoverable. Question marks do remain in relation to the morality of the process, to the safety of the innovative treatments and to the extent or efficiency of the results. It remains to be seen whether sacrifices are worth making along the way and whether the very debatable and debated embryonic stem cell research will ever become unanimously recognized and accepted.