Stem cells are types of cells that have the ability to reproduce itself by going through mitosis. They also have the ability to turn into other types of cell types. These cell types could include muscles, blood, skin, and basically any other cell you can think of. Stem cells come from human embryos while they are going through very early stages of development. They can also come from the tissues that are left behind during terminated pregnancies. Other types of stem cells can come from adult human tissues. The embryonic stem cells can be mutated to turn into any type of specialized cells. The adult human tissue stem cells called progenitor cells have the ability to act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues.

Embryonic stem cells, which are from within a woman’s body, are the main focus of much research that has been done on stem cells so far. This is because these types of stem cells have the ability to transform into over 200 different types of cells. There are major controversies that have been created because of this method of getting stem cells. This is because every time a human stem cell is retrieved, a future baby is killed in the process. Many religious groups have problems with this issue because they are against it. People that are Pro- research for embryonic stem cells believe that the possible outcomes from more research will help all humanity by being able to cure many incurable by way of cell transplants. Diseases such as Leukemia are already curable by way of bone-marrow stem cells. Scientists believe that after more research is done, they will be able to use stem cells to cure diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, and major muscle damage. Despite these reasons, George W. Bush made a point in 2001 to cut all federal funding to many stem cell research centers. Despite the lack of funds, scientist stem cell projects are still being funded by private corporations and donations from pro-research people.

Because human embryonic stem cell research has a large negative crowd towards it, many scientists use mice embryos because of their high abundance and similarities with human embryos. Mice stem cells have to be kept at much different environments than human stem cells. Mice stem cells have to be grown on gelatin with the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor. Unless they are grown in the right conditions, all types of stem cells from any type of organism that is not unicellular will be greatly mutated.

There are two ways to get a stem cell. One is to retrieve an embryo (which was mentioned earlier) and to go through a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. This technique involves the physical removal of the nucleus from an egg cell. A nucleus from any other type of cell besides egg and sperm cell is injected into the empty egg cell. The cell is then transformed into a pluripotent cell after many cell divisions. This technique was used in the creation of Dolly the sheep, confirming that nuclear transfer techniques can be used to generated pluripotent cells that can support life.

To be sure that a stem cell will be able to successfully regenerate itself, the cell has to undergo one of two different types of cell division. Symmetric division is where the cell will created enough cell parts for two identical, fully functional, and full sized cells. It then splits apart when the time is right. The other type of division is called asymmetrical division. This is where a cell does not create enough cell parts to create another identical copy of it. Instead, the new cell is very weak and only has enough energy to reproduce itself a few times before dying.

Research is currently being done on the differences of that occur with cells after they are taken out of their natural home, in their mother’s womb. There are some theories that say that new signals are created in the stem cells that make them go through stages of mitosis in different ways or to turn into different specific types of cells. Research on this part of the topic is greatly needed if any cures for cellular diseases are to be cured in the future when using stem cells as the cure.

There are three different types of stem cells that can possibly be created from a single animal’s embryo. They are called totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent. They are each based on the potential in how they will be able to develop and turn into types of cells. Tonipotent has the highest ability to turn into any type of cell. Pluripotent cells have the ability to turn into many different types of cells, but not all that are needed for an organism to survive. Multipotent are more specialized than the other two because more time has passed. By a few a days, most stem cells get to this stage which is where the specific type of cell that the stem cell will turn into will be determined.

Usually, scientists research stem cells that are in the pluripotent stage. A man named James Thompson, who experimented with those types of stem cells, was the first scientist to report success in being able to maintain undifferentiated embryonic stem cells in their undifferentiated state in an experiment. Pluriopotent cells are also important in the study of health. Studying these cells help to understand the processes of cellular division and development. They may help to determine why certain cancers and birth defects are created. In the far future, scientists believe that stem cells will also be able to be used for cell therapy. The newly created cells from the original stem cell would be used like a donor cell to replace any dead or infect cells that exist in a sick person. This is probably the only way that certain disease will be able to be cured.

This topic, stem cell research, is very important to the scientific community. This is because stem cell research can help to cure many diseases in the future. Unless something is done about AIDS, cancers, and birth defects, these diseases will exist forever. The number of cases of these diseases will also rise due to the growth of the population of the world. Everyone should be supporting what is being done in stem cell research because it will help to solve many problems that are going on in our lives today.

What interests be about this article is that it stem cell research has the ability to save many lives and prevent many future people from getting sick or killed from diseases. It also interests me that this is just a recent idea that has not been studied much before. George W. Bush should allow full funding to this project because of what good it will do in the future. The other things that really intrigued me about this topic were the ways that the stem cells have to be found. It doesn’t just come from unborn babies, but from female eggs which are not humans. This process should be pursued more to prevent a negative party against stem cell research while still being able to chase the goal of ending many of the diseases that have killed many and whom are still suffering today.