Essential Questions

1. What are stem cells and how can they be used medically?

Stem Cells are special cells that can replicate easily through cell division and have the ability to

become many different kinds of tissue. Stem cells can divide endlessly and each time they

divide, the new cell has the potential to become a specialized cell or stay a stem cell. Theyre

important because theyre basically the bodys internal repair system (Stem Cell Basics).

These are especially important to medical researchers because they can help explain human

development, birth defects, and diseases like cancer that are thought to stem from errors in cell

division (Murnaghan 1).

2. What diseases can stem cells help with?

Stem cells are important not only for research. They are used for cell therapy which is used today

to treat cancer. In the future, doctors are hoping to utilize stem cells to cure diseases such as

alzheimers and parkinson's that result from damaged cells and nerves (Murnaghan 2). They also

want to someday make entire organs from stem cells. This could save many lives and eliminate

the need for organ donation (McGowan 1).

3. What are the ethical questions in stem cell research?

The most useful stem cells are embryonic stem cells because they have more potential to

differentiate into specialized cells (Stem Cell Basics). Unfortunately, these stem cells have to

be taken from an embryo which will destroy it. This leads to the question of whether embryos

should have the status of a person (Embryonic Stem Cell Research). Stem cells could save

many lives, but does that have precedent over the future of the embryo?

4. How are stem cells harvested?

There are many different methods to obtain stem cells because there are multiple sources. Adult

stem cells are generally harvested from bone marrow, circulatory blood, or blood from the

umbilical cord. These are all taken using a blood draw or bone marrow biopsy (Harvesting Stem

Cells). Most embryonic stem cells come from leftover embryos that were to be used in IVF (in

vitro fertilization) treatments. Once the embryos are 4 or 5 days old, the stem cells can be

extracted (Myths and Misconceptions..).

5. How is stem cell research conducted?

Stem cell research is generally conducted through experiments. There is a lot of information

known about stem cell, researcher are just trying to figure out their total capacity. A lot of these

experiments are done through cell therapies to try to figure what could actually be a cure

(Bevington 1). There are a lot of guidelines with this type of research because stem cells are such

a controversial topic. These studies are highly scrutinized to make sure theyre ethically sound

(Guidelines).