Research for Assessment Task 1

Endorsement

• Embryonic stem cells have the potential to grow indefinitely in a laboratory environment and can differentiate into almost all types of bodily tissue. This makes embryonic stem cells a prospect for cellular therapies to treat a wide range of diseases

Human potential and humanity

This argument often goes hand-in-hand with the utilitarian argument, and can be presented in several forms:

• Embryos are not equivalent to human life while they are still incapable of surviving outside the womb (i.e. they only have the potential for life).

This is the definition for the argument that judges human life which has been a controversy whether a zygote is a human and killing it would be murder

• Some parties contend that embryos are not humans, believing that the life of Homo sapiens only begins when the heartbeat develops, which is during the 5th week of pregnancy, or when the brain begins developing activity, which has been detected at 54 days after conception.

This will show that embryos are not humans until they have developed a hearth beat and therefore that if the parent wishes to remove it, it would not be murder.

Efficiency

• In vitro fertilization (IVF) generates large numbers of unused embryos (e.g. 70,000 in Australia alone). Many of these thousands of IVF embryos are slated for destruction. Using them for scientific research uses a resource that would otherwise be wasted.

Statistics about the amount of unused embryos that will not be used are being wasted when they could cure diseases

• While the destruction of human embryos is required to establish a stem cell line, no new embryos have to be destroyed to work with existing stem cell lines. It would be wasteful not to continue to make use of these cell lines as a resource.

It would not be destroying any new embryos in the process as the embryos that have been produce will most likely never be used

• Abortions are legal in many countries and jurisdictions. The argument then follows that if these embryos are being destroyed anyway, why not use them for stem cell research or treatments?

Superiority

This is usually presented as a counter-argument to using adult stem cells as an alternative that doesn't involve embryonic destruction.

• Embryonic stem cells make up a significant proportion of a developing embryo, while adult stem cells exist as minor populations within a mature individual (e.g. in every 1,000 cells of the bone marrow, only 1 will be a usable stem cell). Thus, embryonic stem cells are likely to be easier to isolate and grow ex vivo than adult stem cells.

• Embryonic stem cells divide more rapidly than adult stem cells, potentially making it easier to generate large numbers of cells for therapeutic means. In contrast, adult stem cell might not divide fast enough to offer immediate treatment.

• Embryonic stem cells have greater plasticity, potentially allowing them to treat a wider range of diseases.

• Adult stem cells from the patient's own body might not be effective in treatment of genetic disorders. Allogeneic embryonic stem cell transplantation (i.e. from a healthy donor) may be more practical in these cases than gene therapy of a patient's own cell.

• DNA abnormalities found in adult stem cells that are caused by toxins and sunlight may make them poorly suited for treatment.

• Embryonic stem cells have been shown to be effective in treating heart damage in mice.

• Embryonic stem cells have the potential to cure chronic and degenerative diseases which current medicine has been unable to effectively treat.

This is all the effective uses for stem cells over the adult stem cells found in bone marrow saying that is faster and easier to use and can be used in many different applications and does not require an adults own cells or with the same circumstances (i.e. blood type, age, sex)



This picture shows the process of how stem cells are cultivated and changed into certain cells in the body starting as a fertilized egg that is allowed to multiply at a point it is then harvested for the cultured undifferentiated stem cells which can be changed to any type of cells because they have not been specified as a certain cell.
http://static.wix.com/media/63a213bd19323437de35700ac2a78083.wix_mp

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

This is an introduction into stem cells and the characteristics from a reputable site from the National institute of health resource for stem cell research giving my argument a more authoritative logical argument saying the characteristics of the stem cells and what they can achieve.
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp


The Australian Stem Cell Centre is the largest, most comprehensive stem cell research organisation in Australia. Founded in 2002, it was formed to take advantage of Australia’s significant strengths in the field of stem cell research. The ASCC has a strong focus on partnering and networking and is focused on utilising stem cells and related technologies to meet human health challenges.


This is the main thesis of the Australian Stem Cell Centre the leading organisation for stem cell research in Australia. This gives the thesis of the history of the centre and the main focus of their efforts for stem cell research. This will give credibility to my argument by quoting their thesis.
http://www.stemcellcentre.edu.au/


Scientists are now beginning to succeed in making stem cells differentiate into particular types of cells, and identifying whether these specialised cells function normally. Australian scientists have been at the forefront of this research. For example, scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne and at the University of Queensland are looking at brain stem cells, with a long-term view of treating patients with brain injuries or degenerative diseases. Others are studying the capacity for stem cells to produce a complex organ, by making scaffolding for cells to grow on or around.


This excerpt from the Australian government website shows the current success and the research that is going into stem cell research and what they hope will be able to be achieved. This website is from the Australian government and will give a large amount of credibility to my argument.
http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/human/researchsc.html