January 27, 2012
How could stem cell research affect our world? What effects could it have on human lives?
Category: Stem cell research
How could stem cell research affect our world? What effects could it have on human lives?
One Response to “How could stem cell research affect our world? What effects could it have on human lives?”
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January 27th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
stem cells have the potential to turn into any type of cell in the body. If you have a liver disease, for example, you could theoretically coax stem cells into becoming liver cells and use them to replace your sick liver. That has profound implications for medicine.
You can also manipulate stem cells genetically, putting modified genes into them. Then when you transplant the step cells into the body, they are going to express that new gene. If someone could engineer a gene that fights a disease, stem cell technology would be a great way to implement it.
It’s also a subject of intense ethical and political debate, because the stem cells that work best are only obtained from human embryos in a process that requires destruction of the embryo. Some people call that a crime equivalent to homicide. People are going to fight over this for a long time.