Everybody wants to live. People who are sick go to the doctor, follow a strict treatment, and take a very good care of themselves. Indeed, life is the most precious thing we have. But, what would happen if you knew you have alzheirmer, or cancer? You will hold low expectations on life, and your mood would not be the same. Nevertheless, there might be cure for those serious health problems: Stem cells.
Stem cells are the primal cells found in all multicellular organisms. They retain the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cells division. There are different kind of cells: Embryonic stem cells (taken from the embryo), Adult stem cell (taken from bones, tissue, and umbilical cord blood). Now, they are considered to be the key to human health as they are the most promising way to treat many fatal diseases and save human life in a better way. It can potentially help to treat better a range of medical problems like leukemia, Alzheirmer, Parkinson's disease, deafness, stroke, diabetes, Crohn's disease, blindness, multiple sclerosis, cancer, muscular dystrophy, and myocardial infarction.
However, there still exists a great deal of social, religious, scientific uncertainty surrounding it, which could possibly be overcome through public debate. It's argued that embryonic stem-cell studies involve the destruction of human embryos; people should not mess with human life, nor play with it. Besides, some argue that stem cell research in the far future can lead to knowledge on how to clone humans.
But, why is the debate regarding the stem cell research so intense? It is a matter of life - something impossible to measure. And in this case, researchers have to do exactly that: measure life against life. Does a big breakthrough in the research justify the use of the method in the present? Would the benefits of treating with stem cells outweigh the costs? or even worse, could the research be misused in the future?
Here you have a video called: "The promise of research with stem cells." Susan Solomon is the speaker and she expands on this topic.
Here you have a video called: "The promise of research with stem cells." Susan Solomon is the speaker and she expands on this topic.
Really controversial topic, but holy obvious answer: Science has proven to be a pro for the well-being of humans.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the attached video I said "yeah, that's right." I'm referring to the gap S.Solomon mentions; one academic research side and pharmaceutical companies that have developed drugs (obviously, with profit orientation. I don't like that.
The last being also a trending topic for ecologists who do not want plants being modified by chemicals under experimental treatments.
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/stem-cells-in-plants-and-animals-14164783
"Everyone wants to live". That's how you started your entry and I agree on that. In my opinion, people should try to find their own convenience and their own happines. And I'm referring to the fact that some people would want to use those cells to have a better life but some others wouldn't use it. Here is where our freedom starts to show up. We need to have the right to choose if we want to live a life with some help or we just want to keep on the "plan of god" (for religious people). However, there are some people that would want to use the cells to cure some deseases but they don't have the money to pay for the treatment. Then, our freedom gets stuck and the advances are just for people who can afford for it. Life's unfair, right?
ReplyDelete