Stem Cell Research

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Stem Cell Research
In a society boasting to be the most technologically advanced in human history, it’s hardly uncommon to hear of new discoveries destined to contribute to the ever-expanding field.
While the word “technology” itself covers a broad range of topics, biotechnology narrows the focus to a field dedicated to the “use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment.”1 Stem cell research is one of many topics encompassed in the field of biotechnology focused on “advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms “.2
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of stem cell research within the framework of today’s biotechnological achievements. The following information will explore the future of stem cell research, how it has, and will continue to affect humans and health sciences, bio-ethical and legal issues, as well as how and in what areas this technology is currently being applied. The paper will also examine various types of stem cells, their sources, function and potential applications in therapies and treatments.
Stem cells can best be described as “un-programmed cells” 3 with the ability to change into specific cells needed to make up the tissues and organs of the human body.4 They also act as a type of repair system that allows a continuous division to replenish cells.5
When stem cell division occurs, the new cells can either continue undifferentiated, or become a specific type of cell with a specialized function such as a muscle cell, brain cell or nerve cell.6 For example, blood-forming stem cells found in the bone marrow have the ability to become any type of blood cell needed by the body.7 There are two basic kinds of stem cells, embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.8 They are further categorized according to the number of cells they can create.
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