The Importance of Stem Cell Research Essay Sample

“In Britain, like most of the developed world, stem cell research is regarded as a great opportunity.  America will be left behind if it doesn’t change policy.”  This quote by Stephen Hawking illustrates the enormous importance and urgency of furthering our knowledge of stem cell research.  Stem cells have the unique ability to change and to self renew.  Stem cell research analyzes stem cells and their potential use in medicine.  While stem cell research is a fairly new concern in the United States, studies of mouse embryos have been in the works since 1981.  A number of successful attempts arose from these trials, with genetically modified mice being created.  With the gift of more knowledge in stem cell research, people with what seem to be incurable diseases can potentially be treated and fully healed within a respectable amount of time.  This impacts patients all around the world with parkinsons, barth syndrome, or any other clinical illness waiting to receive stem cell treatment; however, mentioning stem cell research is a touchy subject to some people.  The controversy arises when ethics and morality battle with experimentation and scientific investigation.  

Primarily, the strongest argument in favor of stem cell research is the fact that it has the potential to cure and treat the most devastating of human diseases and thus lessen human suffering.  The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) states that afflictions such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer's disease could very well benefit from stem cell therapies.  Studies are underway in California to develop new therapies using human stem cell exosome therapy that will slow the progression of Alzheimer's (Schubert).  Here CIRM explains that there are currently no drugs to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.  But stem cell exosome therapy shows potential in this area.  Because stem cells can differentiate into brain cells, they may be able to repair severe damage from Alzheimer’s.  Also, not only do stem cells have the ability to cure disease, but they also have regenerative properties.  This means stem cells can be coaxed into becoming designated cells that can repair and replace damaged tissues or organs in humans (Stem).  According to the Mayo clinic it has already been proven that adult bone marrow cells can be directed to become heart cells that can repair heart tissue in humans.  The Mayo clinic clearly states the correlation between stem cells and the ability to slow or stop disease progression.  The versatility with this research could allow anything from a cluster of cells to an entire limb being regenerated in the future.  Stem cell research is the greatest new frontier in modern medicine.  

Additionally, stem cell research allows for the testing of new drugs for safety and effectiveness.  Research out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as explained by assistant professor Gabriella Cezar, highlights the idea that testing new drugs on clusters of human cells in a dish other than on living and breathing humans, makes it safer when the drugs come into clinical trials.  Cezar claims, “With human embryonic stem cells, we can recapitulate development of the human brain and measure concrete changes of chemicals to drugs like valproate”(Chu).  This type of stem cell research can allow scientists to look at what can be causing disease in fetuses during pregnancy.  Where otherwise, they would have no way to look at these components.   Moreover, stem cell drug research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information claims that stem cell drug screenings are cheaper than animal testing and could possibly reduce or eliminate the need for animal testing all together.  

Using animal tissues for study can be a slow process and the response to pharmaceuticals in animals can be different from the response in humans (Kitambi and Chandrasekar).  Stem cell research allows for much more accurate testing because of the use of actual human cells as opposed to animal cells.  This will benefit not only humans, but animals as well.  Traditionally, the testing of new drugs has been a painfully slow and expensive endeavor.  Stem cell research can be a game-changer in this area of medicine.  

On the contrary, much of the American population continues to persevere with the belief that stem cell research might be unethical, harmful, and even immoral.  While these may seem like valid arguments on the surface, many have been debunked and proven false by several different sources.  According to Richard M. Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy Development at the Secretant for pro life activities, he asserts that embryonic stem cell research is unethical due to it violating “all civilized codes on human experimentation beginning with the Nuremberg code: it approved doing deadly harm to a member of the human species solely for the sake of potential benefit to others” (Doerflinger).  However, many stem cell proponents consider arguments like these to be false, citing that embryos from which stem cells are harvested are not growing in a uterus and are not a fetus.  In fact it is only a cluster of about 200 cells growing in a lab dish almost too small to be seen (Examining).  There are those who think that stem cell research is wrong because it is equal to killing one person to treat another's disease.  However, a cluster of cells is not equivalent to a human being in much the same way that a skin cell would not be considered a human being.  Also from Doerflinger is the allegation that embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary because adult stem cells are available opposed to embryonic stem cells.  This argument is easily dismantled by the University of Michigan which claims that embryonic stem cells can become any cell type whereas adult stem cells are far more limited in their ability to develop into any kind of cell.  In a nutshell, embryonic stem cells can do things that adult stem cells are not able to.  Faith-based statements that have no grounding in rational thought have no place in the scientific arena.  The moment faith is brought into the equation, the argument is effectively over because by definition, faith is belief without evidence or proof.  Stem cell research should not only be permitted but obligatory for the advancements of medical science.  

Again, stem cell research, including embryonic study, is crucial to medical science and reducing suffering.  First, many credible sources point to promising new therapies for our most devastating diseases.  Second, stem cells have regenerative properties with the incredible potential someday of regrowing organs.  Third, stem cell research can bring new drugs to the public more quickly and humanely.  No one can know for certain the full extent of the potential benefits and pitfalls of a new venture.  Will Americans lead the way for responsible research or will they sit on the sidelines while others pass them by?  Whether exploring the depth of the ocean, the outer reaches of space, or the quantum mysteries of the human body, the ability to end suffering must be advanced.  To learn more about stem cell research, a free study course is offered by the international society for stem cell research, please visit isscr.org/scientific-clinical-resourecs/education-resources.