What the Hell is Stem Cell Research?

In case you skipped high school, humans (along with all living things) are made out of cells. We’re made out of about 100 trillion of them, and some of them are magic. The magic ones are called STEM CELLS! Stem cells are special because they can split into two and become different cells. For example, when you were just a tiny embryo, stem cells split up and multiplied and made your arms, and your legs, and your tail. There are more than 220 different cell types, which fall into three different layers and ALL of these cells can be formed from a stem cell. So in short, stem cells make everything (brain included) when you’re just a little womb pirate, and when you’re big, they just fix you up and give you breasts and testicles and things like that.
    The idea of stem cells first arose in the early ‘60s, but the concept was ignored and it wasn’t until the mid ‘60s that anyone took any notice, things started to happen and people started to talk until Gail Martin coined the term “embryonic stem cell” in the early ‘80s. Research has come along in leaps and bounds since then, and the focus has shifted from discovery to utilisation, more specifically, how we can take advantage of another of mother natures’ amazing creations. The answer lies in cell generation. To be shamelessly basic about the whole ordeal, (this process is a bit too in-depth for us common folk) we can tell cells what we want them to be (repair, growth etc), and essentially create something out of nothing. What are the advantages of this you ask?
    Stem cells are a target for genetic changes; these changes can fiddle with the cells and give us cancer. Stem cell research raises the possibility of understanding and modifying these cells to give us healthy ones, effectively (I don’t want to say it) curing cancer. Also, based on the fact that cells can be reprogrammed, there is potential for cell regeneration – meaning amputees could re–grow legs or arms and we could even re–grow facial tissue.  That’s a heavy burden to bear for biologists and unfortunately the current level of research means that we are not able to do these things, but keep an eye out over the next decade or five.
    The stink thing about science is often when a new idea is thought up, there are a number of differing viewpoints that create an ethical dilemma which jeopardises the continued funding and subsequent research. Stem cell research unfortunately follows the trend. The issue raised here is that with this technology comes an exciting and ethically challenging concept – cloning. The nature of this science means that it is possible to get genetic material from one cell and generate more of them somewhere else, technically recreating a human. As cool as that may be, the ethical issues surrounding cloning are numerous and extremely controversial.
    One of the key contributing factors to the morality argument surrounding stem cell science was that until January of this year,  it was impossible to regenerate any cells without the use (and subsequent destruction) of a live human embryo. This means that embryos had to be created (or obtained from un-needed IVF treatment (where embryo’s are created outside of the womb for couples who can’t get pregnant)) and then used solely for the purpose of scientific experiment. Since the beginning of this year, however, it is possible to use a human embryo to transplant DNA into a stem cell, and keep the embryo alive. With this massive break-through a huge portion of anti-stem cell lobbyists’ arguments became redundant. There are still, however, a large number of people who protest to the research because of the argument that before long this science will diversify into complete cloning, and argue that cloning is amoral and should be avoided at all costs.
    You decide*. At the end of the day, we have to weigh up whether potentially saving hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives in cancer (and other illness) related medical problems is worth a possible decline into a society of designer babies and perfect teeth and 1200 year old beauty queens. Admittedly I may be being slightly over the top, but being as I just found out that I can finally fix the kink in my nose and my funny second toe, you can forgive me for being a bit excited.

* Your decision doesn’t mean anything.