Pros And Cons Of Embryonic Stem Cells

Before the cells of human beings are specialized into heart muscles, liver cells, or muscle cells, stem cell differentiation occurs when a fetus is being developed. What classifies as a stem cell is to have the ability to renew themselves and the ability to differentiate into other cells (Bishop and Rippon 24). Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are interesting for scientists and researchers because of their potential use for therapy and providing treatment for diseases such as damaged cells due to heart attacks or the make organs for transplants. Although stem cell differentiation is not well understood yet, factors that allow stem cells to specialize in the targeted area or damaged organ are: internal signals and external signals produced by nearby cells. These factors alternate the DNA of ES cells that allow them to specialize.
One of the biggest issue is result of obtaining embryonic stem cells. As the name suggest, these stem cells are obtained from human embryos but as a result, the embryo dies in the process. This has risen controversy from religious communities that are against the research of stem cells. As a result, embryos are donated to science rather than growing them themselves. Also, there is a chance that embryonic stem cell implants can be rejected by the human body, so scientists are finding ways to prevent it by studying the processes of