There have been a lot of controversies regarding the latest stem cell research in recent days. People have been publishing a lot about this issue and it is all over the media lately. It has aggregated some religious groups in the world and they have been very stern towards the issue. Here is my point of view regarding this issue:
Unlike other cells in our body, each of which is specialized to perform a particular function, Stem cells are characterized by the ability to renew themselves by the mitosis division and differentiate in to a diverse range of specialized cells types thereby offering medical treatment to wide range of debilitating diseases. This new area of biotechnology seems to be a major breakthrough with the same potential to change the health care as the discovery of antibiotics more than 70 years ago which gave hope to millions. But unfortunately this radical area of biology has fraught with ethical issues and controversies which had made the process of development slow.
There are two sources for obtaining stem cells, one from the layer of cells of embryo in the blast cyst stage, these are called the embryonic stem cells and the other from the adult tissues called the adult stem cells. When the stem cells are retracted from the embryo, the embryo is completely destroyed. This is where the controversies begin. According to the critics, extracting stem cells from the embryo is like killing, it is a murder. In fact some religions in the world strictly prohibit it.
But I think its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. It is for the betterment of the humans and very beneficial for the society. As I feel that these stem cells have been used to save human lives and has enormous benefits. This stem cell therapy is used for the treatment of various dreadful diseases like Parkinson disease, diabetes, Alzheimer etc which does not have any cure even in the recent days.
This stem cell therapy is considered to