Stem cell treatment is a controversial topic of discussion among scientists and researchers today. By studying these cells, researchers have the potential opportunity to develop a more complete understanding of cancer and birth defects—as they are due to abnormal cell division and differentiation (Frequently np). However, there is much debate over the ethics of using embryonic stem cells in research. The embryonic stem cells used in research are “legally obtained abortants or from early stage embryos that are destined to be discarded in the course of IVF procedures” and for this reason, there is nothing morally wrong with using them for research (Berg np). I am a firm believer that studying these cells is crucial to moving forward with stem cell treatment, which maintains the potential to diagnose, treat, and cure various diseases and conditions (Top np).
Above all, treating disease is perhaps the most sought after purpose of embryonic stem cells. The reason that they are so much more effective in treatments than adult stem cells, is their ability to give rise to all types of cells in the body, ranging from muscle to skin and all other types between, while adult stem cells are limited to generate only one cell type within the body. However, embryonic stem cells do have the potential to become carcinogenic, which is why stem cell reattach cannot cease as the embryonic stem cells also maintain the potential to be used in therapies and as a testing mechanism for new drugs in place of animals (Frequently np). As a result of embryonic stem cell research, a possible method for preventing mitochondrial disorders like Kearns-Sayre syndrome, Leigh syndrome, and many others—most affecting one or more organ systems, the brain, and the function of muscle fibers—has been discovered. By inserting donated egg cytoplasm into an egg with abnormal mitochondrial DNA, women with this abnormal DNA may someday soon be able have children that do not have any