Stem Cell Canyon

Stem Cell Canyon

Abortion, cloning, maybe even "the end of the world as we know it" may come to mind upon hearing the now-common words "stem cell research." Stem cell research's true nature and true goals are shrouded by politics, and contrary to the popular belief, it is not all about "murdering human embryos," as some pro-life advocates may put it. The public has been left without much knowledge of the stem cell issue due to its political association, and consequently, many misconceptions about stem cell research as a whole have arisen. One of the common misconceptions, I find, is that embryonic stem cell research is the only type of stem cell research there is, and that destroying a human embryo is the only way to scientifically further our nation's understanding of stem cells. This commonly held belief among a majority of conservatives, some moderates, and many uneducated peoples in the United States is entirely untrue; there are many different ways of acquiring stem cells, all of which have nothing to do with harming an embryo or human being, and the understanding of these stem cells and how to use them to treat diseases such as Parkinson's disease, heart disease, and Alzheimer's, will only come with continued research.

There is currently a "poster-boy" for almost every current issue concerning today's politics in the United States. For example, ex-Vice President Al Gore may come to mind when speaking of the heated debate over so called "global warming." These poster-boys seem to always camouflage the real-issue behind the debate and gear the debate toward the need for the American public to quickly choose a side to the issue without first being given un-biased facts. To me, this is the case when it comes to the current debate over embryonic stem cell research, whose poster-boy, since the turn of the century, has been the Democratic Party as a whole (Noah, 1). As soon as this aspect of cutting-edge scientific research was unveiled to the public, its moral constructs were heavily questioned. Shortly after, politics took this issue by the horns trying to direct it, along with the public, to their particular sides: for or against the advancement of government-funded embryonic stem cell research (Agnew, 1). Due to this strong association of stem cell research with politics in the United States, most of the American public has been left with little to no understanding of what stem cell research, as well as its many avenues of scientific undertaking, as a whole holds for the future of medicine and what the controversy itself is really about.

Embryonic stem cell research is a term that refers to stem cell research with which stem cells from human embryos are needed (U.S. Health Dept, 3). The issue of whether destroying a human fetus in order to obtain these stem cells is moral or immoral is the controversy that has engulfed the entire stem cell research community of scientists and has shed rather bad light in the public eye on the topic itself. However, a majority of the American public is unaware that many avenues within stem cell research can be taken to further America's knowledge of the stem cell. All of these different avenues of acquiring stem cells have nothing to do with harming a human embryo, and therefore have no moral implications. What America as a nation should do now, since federal funding has been cut to embryonic stem cell research due to the moral dilemma, is seek out these alternative stem cell research methods and explore them with vigor (U.S. Health Dept., 3). Stem cell research is one of modern medicine's most rapidly developing fields, despite the lack of knowledge throughout the general public, and holds the key to deciphering the unknowns of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart diseases, and many more (U.S. Senate, 2). There has been much discussion here over the debate, controversy, and misconceptions, but what exactly is a stem cell?

All stem cells (I will explain the different types later) have three properties in common: they are able to divide and regenerate themselves, they are unspecialized as to function, and they can form specialized cell types (U.S. Health Dept., 1). The first of these properties, the ability of stem cells to divide and renew themselves, is a property specific to stem cells since other cells such and muscle cells and blood cells cannot replicate themselves many times. The next property of stem cells, that they are unspecialized, simply means that the stem cell does not have specific structures that allow it to perform functions in a certain tissue; for example, the stem cell does not carry oxygen like a red blood cell, and similarly, the stem cell cannot work with other cells to pump blood like a heart muscle cell (U.S. Health Dept., 1). The third property mentioned, the ability of the stem cell to form specialized cells, refers to the differentiation of the stem cell into many types of cells; for example, a stem cell may become a neuron, a liver cell, a blood cell, and so on (U.S. Health Dept.,1). Although there are many different types of stem cells being discovered, they all seem to share these qualities and therefore all have the need to be researched in order to discover the secrets they possess.

The most promising direction for stem cell research in today's America seems to be that of "cord blood" stem cells. Often referred to as "placental blood," cord blood is the blood in the umbilical cord and placenta that remains after the umbilical cord is cut following the birth of a human child (Cord Blood, 1). This cord blood contains a valuable amount of stem cells which can readily reproduce into different types of blood cells. A baby's umbilical cord and placental blood is typically discarded after birth, but sometimes it is saved and used in transplant medicine. This type of treatment uses cord blood stem cells to regenerate a person's blood cells and immune system after chemotherapy or radiation has been induced (Cord Blood,1). Although this type of stem cell therapy is already in use, its true nature and ability had yet to be discovered until just after the turn of the century. Just recently, cord blood stem cells have shown the ability to turn into neural cells and blood vessel cells (Cord Blood, 1). Another study, done by researchers at the University of Michigan, has shown the umbilical cord blood stem cells have the ability to differentiate into a certain type of lung cell which is responsible for repairing the airway after damage (Stem, 1). This ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate into more than just blood cells gives scientists a small glimpse of the promise of cord blood stem cells as a strong avenue for research.

The next most promising avenue of stem cell research,