Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research started way back in the year 1978 and it’s still being carried on until today. Basically stem cells can be used to regenerate any cell in a living organism. This means if you lost a finger in an accident, you can use stem cells to regenerate a new finger. In simple words, a stem cell is like the “mother” of cells because it can act like any cell in the body.

One of the greatest stories about stem cell research is definitely related to Christopher Reeve. If you didn’t know, Christopher Reeve was the first Superman in movies. He was a great actor until he faced a tragic horse-riding accident. He broke his neck, damaged his spinal cord, and

he couldn’t breathe without a respirator. Basically, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed. He did heavy researches on the spinal cord and he found stem cells. Stem cells are only found in embryos. So, the stem cells need to be extracted from fetuses. Once the stem cells are extracted, they can then be used in patients to regenerate any missing body parts. Note that

stem cells also work on animals. Christopher Reeve is an iconic person in the stem cell research because he did a lot of work in promoting the medical advances in stem cell research. Nearing the end Reeve’s death, he was actually able to regain some movements in his fingers, elbows, knees, and toes. Not only that, he was felt hot and cold. This shows that the stem cells have really helped. Scientifically, the stem cells have transformed into nerve cells, allowing him to feel any difference in temperature.

Although stem cell research brings a lot of medical advances, there are many controversies about it. First of all, stem cells need to be extracted from fetuses. This is a problem because it’s kind of like taking the baby’s life away. Not only that, medical facilities need to a lot of stem cells to do the research. Therefore, they are taking away many lives away. But at the same time, using stem cells could

increase the life span of a living organism. Other than that, certain stem cell therapies have actually developed horrible side effects. There was one time where after a stem cell therapy

was done, there was a developing tumor in the body. Aside from that, stem cells have not actually cured any particular disease. One of the main controversies is “playing god”. By taking away one’s life just to increase your lifespan is unethical and wrong.