Embryonic Stem Cells
The coming conversations surrounding embryo research will prove to be very important. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle, and public debate is crucial - Sheetal Soni
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Embryonic Stem Cells: Exploding the Myths
When it comes to embryonic stem cells, you can find just about any opinion you like: They are an untapped elixir of life; they will lead to embryo "farms" where potential lives are snuffed out; they will cure all diseases; their potential is overhyped...
The excitement about the potential of embryonic stem cells to cure disease comes from their unique potential to turn into any cell type in the body. There are many diseases that are caused when a particular cell type in the body starts behaving badly. Take diabetes. The disease occurs when special cells in the pancreas, called islet cells, stop making insulin.
Featured
Limits for human embryo research have been changed: this calls for public debate
Human embryo research is a sensitive topic because people are divided on the moral status of the human embryo. Some people believe that the embryo, as the earliest form of human life, should be protected and not subjected to research at all. Others believe that while an embryo has some moral status, it cannot be protected in the same way as humans are, and may be used for some important research which could ultimately benefit people.
Articles of Interest
A New Form of Stem-Cell Engineering Raises Ethical Questions
As biological research races forward, ethical quandaries are piling up. In a report published Tuesday in the journal eLife, researchers at Harvard Medical School said it was time to ponder a startling new prospect: synthetic embryos.
Controversial New Guidelines Would Allow Experiments On More Mature Human Embryos
For decades, scientists have been prohibited from keeping human embryos alive in their labs for more than 14 days. The prohibition was aimed at avoiding a thicket of ethical issues that would be raised by doing experiments on living human embryos as they continue to develop.
Embryonic Stem Cells Made Without Embryos
Two teams of scientists, one in the United States and one in Japan, have independently found a way to make embryonic stem cells without destroying an embryo. The result essentially eliminates the ethical objections some people have had about embryonic stem cell research.
Embryos and ethics
A new technique that could make therapeutic cloning less controversial.
Grappling With the Ethics of Stem Cell Research
Can life be preserved at the expense of other life? The use of human embryonic stem cells presents a tight tangle of ethical questions.
How are embryonic stem cell lines made and grown?
Human embryonic stem cells are made from 4- to 6-day-old embryos that have been created in laboratories, usually fertility clinics. The inner cells from the ball-shaped embryos are isolated and placed in a dish along with the nutrients they need to grow.
Q&A: The Man Behind Embryonic Stem Cells
James "Jamie" Thomson, an embryologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, changed the world by creating the first human embryonic stem cells. Few research experiments have generated as much hype or controversy. Most of the hype about embryonic stem cells has been about replacing damaged body parts, but Thomson sees real promise in drug discovery.
Science Fiction
What pro-lifers are missing in the stem-cell debate.
Scientists 3-D Print With Human Embryonic Stem Cells
They hope to create 3-D tissues and organs using stem cells as the "ink."
Scientists create first embryonic stem cells from adult cells
The race to turn ordinary skin cells into embryonic stem cells – which can be used to make any tissue in the body - has ended in a dead heat, with two groups of scientists simultaneously announcing they have achieved the feat.
Scientists form human cell clumps that act like early-stage embryos
Cultured stem cells turn into blastoid ‘balls’, like natural blastocysts after egg fertilisation.
The Case of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Fears that scientific breakthroughs might lead to a slippery slope, ethically or medically, shouldn't scare society into trying to prohibit controversial work.
The Difference Between Embryonic, Adult Stem Cells
With adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research at odds with each other, we figured it's time for a primer on stem cells and the two different approaches.
The Stem Cell Debate
For some opponents of embryonic stem cell science, the argument is fundamentally one of faith: The human embryo should be held as sacrosanct, and not used for the pursuit of any ends, regardless of how nobly intended.
Resources
Embryonic Stem Cell Research News
EIN News is a leading online news monitoring service which has served millions of readers around the world since 1995.
New York Stem Cell Foundation
The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering human embryonic stem cell research to advance the search for cures of the major diseases of our time.
Stemaid
We were the first company in the world to produce embryonic stem cells for therapeutic use. With over a decade of experience, you can trust that our stem cells are safe and reliable.
