Stem Cell Research

13 Pages 3142 Words

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Human development begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg. It is at that point that an embryo has formed. This single cell is known as a toipotent cell (National Institutes of Health 1). It has the ability to develop totally into a human being. Many believe that it is at this point, when a single cell embryo is formed that life begins.
After about four days, this single cell has developed into many cells. This new group of cells is now known as pluripotent cells (National Institutes of Health 1). Pluripotent cells then start to become stem cells. These stem cells will eventually become specialized cells or cells with a particular function. It is at this point in the development that the pluripotent cells would not survive on their own. If pluripotent cells were to be placed into the uterus they would not survive.
The first way to obtain stem cells is through human embryos. Dr. Jamie Thomson is a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Thomson was the first to extract stem cells from a human embryo in November of 1998 (Blevington 1). Dr. Thomson found the stem cells in the inner cells of the human embryo. After extracting these stem cells Dr. Thomson grew them in a petri dish. This produced what is known as a line or group of stem cells. This line of stem cells is then used for further research. All the embryos that were used were received from a fertility clinic. These embryos were originally created for the purposes of reproduction and not research. The couples that
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donated these surplus embryos did so with willing consent (National Institutes of Health 2). The second way of obtaining stem cells is through discarded fetal tissue. Dr. John Gearhart of John Hopkins University was the first to extract stem cells from fetal tissue. Dr. Gearhart extracted these stem cells in November of 1998, the same time that Dr. Thomson discovered these cells in human embryo...