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Marcia Hooks
Instructor: C. Boyd
Eng 111-54
10 July 2014
Supportive Stance on Stem Cell Research
Stem cell research is something that can positively impact society. In Expressing Cells in
Amniotic Fluid, author Prusa points out that one function of stem cells is to prevent totipotent
human embryo cells from differentiating (Prusa 1). Totipotency is the ability of a cell, such as
an egg, to give rise to unlike cells and thus develop into or generate a new organism or part. If
stem cells can stop cell differentiation from happening, then it can be inferred that stem cell
research can provide a path that will one day lead to a cure for cancer, as bad cell division
through mutation is what cancer stems from in the first place. If religious views can eventually
be overlooked one day, stem cells will play a vital role in drastically increasing the average
human life span.
Those who are against stem cell research for religious reasons often say that humans are
not to play God by creating life; however, assuming God exists, would He not want humans to
be able to explore this possibility if he has given society the means to get this far?
The question of when life begins is also an argument the religious use against stem cells,
but who can really determine when life begins? Some who are for partial birth abortions would
not even say that life begins until the umbilical cord is snipped, as up until that point, the mother
is the life source. Others would not say life begins until about fourteen weeks into pregnancy, but
more clarity will be provided for the existence of life later.
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Others argue that stem cell research is the first of many scary steps into creating a Utopia,
similar to that of Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, but there are far more pros than cons when
it really comes down to it. Stem cell research is simply the next necessary step in order for the
practice of medicine to evolve.
Prusa also states that human amniotic fluid cells are used for routine prenatal genetic
diagnosis of a wide range of fetal abnormalities caused by genetic alterations (Prusa 2). This is
great to point out because if it is possible to determine genetic defects just by utilizing and
analyzing amniotic fluid, then that also means that it is equally as feasible to determine which
cells are healthy enough to use for stem cell research. The article becomes especially intriguing
when it speaks of how the cells are actually split in order for examination to occur. Prusa says,
Cells were lysed by freezing and thawing, the extracts were centrifuged, and the supernatants
were stored at -70 degrees Celsius (Prusa 3).
Prusa also talks about RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). This is
another aid that can help end the demise of cancer because it can reverse the replication of a
cancer cells DNA during cell division, thereby resulting in either stopping the process all
together, or in some instances, actually creating good cells instead. Transcription is the stage in
cell division where a cells information is translated during replication. If this can be reversed
through the aid of a polymerase (an enzyme that breaks apart the polymer [chain of nucleotides
that give a cell its unique qualities]), then a reaction can indeed occur where the actual cell
division is reversed, thereby causing cancer growth to cease.
Leukemia Blood Cells and the Evolution of Stem Cell Research talks about studying
cancer stem cells, rather than figuring out ways to reverse the replication of them. They have the
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structure and function of their healthy cell counterparts, so it is possible to discover what
happens to them before their cell division actually morphs them into full blown leukemia. In the
article, an unknown author states, The origins of these cells are controversial, and their biology
like that of their normal-tissue counterpart, the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is still not
fully elucidated (1). Perhaps these origins can be figured out by looking into the concept of the
telomerase, which is an enzyme found in the telomeres of certain chromosomes that is active in
cell division and may have a role in the proliferation of cancer cells.
In Stem Cell Basics: Introduction, author Bethesda says that stem cells divide 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
(Bethesda 1). Bethesda also goes into more detail in terms of defining what the different types of
stem cells are. The two main types are embryonic-stem cells and non-embryonic somatic or
adult stem cells. Human embryonic stem cells were originally just left over embryos that were
the remnants of in vitro fertilization procedures. Bethesda says, Research on stem cells
continues to advance knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how
healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms (Bethesda 3).
With regards to adult stem cells, Bethesda states, Adult stem cells typically generate the
cell types of the tissue in which they reside. For example, a blood-forming adult stem cell in the
bone marrow normally gives rise to the many types of blood cells Experiments over the last
several years have purported to show that stem cells from one tissue may give rise to cell types
of a completely different tissue. This remains an area of great debate within the research
community. This controversy demonstrates the challenges of studying adult stem cells and
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suggests that additional research using adult stem cells is necessary to understand their full
potential as future therapies (Bethesda 3).
Embryonic stem cells are grown in labs through the use of whats called a cell culture.
This is a procedure in which stem cells are placed atop the substance in a petri dish (similar to
the way a bacteria culture is observed in any general biology laboratory). If the cells can survive
for months without differentiating (splitting off into multiples and mutating as they go), then it
can be inferred that they are good to use for the purposes of stem cell research.
The second procedure that determines whether or not the cultured cells are good enough
for stem cell research is the presence of transcription factors. Two of the most important
transcription factors are Nanog and Oct4. Transcription factors help turn genes on and off at
the right time, which is an important part of the processes of cell differentiation and embryonic
development both Oct 4 and Nanog are associated with maintaining the stem cells in an
undifferentiated state, capable of self-renewal (Bethesda 4). In addition, If scientists can
reliably direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, they may be
able to use the resulting, differentiated cells to treat certain diseases in the future. Diseases that
might be treated by transplanting cells generated from human embryonic stem cells include
Parkinsons disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Duchennes muscular dystrophy,
heart disease, and vision and hearing loss (Bethesda 4).
The author also states that in order to prove an adult stem cell is indeed a stem cell,
scientists tend to show either that the cell can give rise to these genetically identical cells in
culture, and/or that a purified population of these candidate stem cells can repopulate or reform
the tissue after transplant into an animal (Bethesda 4).
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In a hospital setting, a patient can only be pronounced as dead when both brain activity
ceases and his or her heart stops beating. If the heart is still beating but brain activity is
significantly impaired, this person is referred to as living like a vegetable by friends and family
members. If there is still brain activity but no heartbeat, nurses and doctors will generally try to
revive the patient before so much time has passed that the heart has not been able to pump
enough blood to the organs of the body, thereby eventually causing the brain to shut down as
well But the time in between that last heart beat and last wave of transaction within the human
brain is detrimental because it signifies the difference between life and death, for the person is
still considered to be alive until brain activity ceases.
Given those things, religious views absolutely have to be re-evaluated when determining
what qualifies life and what qualifies death especially when they can be just a few short
respirations away from each other. If death is the absence of life, then the absence of life is
generated once the heart and brain both cease their jobs. With this comes the assumption that the
presence of life denotes the presence of these two factors, so if stem cells have no heart beat nor
brain activity, then they cannot be considered to be truly alive in the sense everyone thinks of a
newborn human child to be in. So if stem cells have no life in the predestined sense about which
people of religion are concerned, then why is it such a bad idea to research them? Certainly,
studying the subject cannot hurt if it will one day cure cancer, create insulin-making cells for the
pancreatic receptors of those people stricken with diabetes or give tenacity to someone with
Parkinsons disease.
Thus, if religious views can eventually be overlooked one day, stem cells will play a vital
role in drastically increasing the average human life span. Science needs to go ahead and move
forward, as freedom of speech has already been granted to those who are religious. Opinions
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have been heard, but until this science can be researched further through actual trials, medicine
will never move forward. Stem cell research may not help our parents who are already afflicted
with disease that has done irreparable damage on their bodies; however, stem cells can possibly
touch the future for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.














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Works Cited
Prusa. Expressing Cells in Amniotic Fluid: a new source for Stem Cell Research?. Human
Reproduction, Vol. 18, No. 7, pp. 1489-1493. 1 June. 2013.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?hl=en&q=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/10686
437_Oct-4-
expressing_cells_in_human_amniotic_fluid_a_new_source_for_stem_cell_research/file/9c96052
6589b0169bf.pdf&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm0Dk9m4_NsTWiF25OJOm2WUNdUQEw&oi=schol
arr.
Author unknown. Leukemia Blood Cells and the Evolution of Stem Cell Research. Nature
Reviews Cancer 5, pp. 311-321. April. 2005.
http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v5/n4/full/nrc1592.html.
Van Lake. Cardiac Recovery by Stem and Progenitor Cells. Cardiomyocytes Derived from Stem
Cells. pp. 1-247. 2005.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?hl=en&q=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/243455
49_Human_embryonic_stem_cell-
derived_cardiomyocytes_survive_and_mature_in_the_mouse_heart_and_transiently_improve_fu
nction_after_myocardial_infarction/file/d912f50d1a68ea61ca.pdf%23page%3D79&sa=X&scisig
=AAGBfm3iaf59s_vkrB_jg-iF16UNpQWMtw&oi=scholarr.
Bethesda. Stem Cell Basics: Introduction. pp. 1-4. 7 June. 2012.
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics1.aspx.