Biology Is Life !

He He I'm the first...ok...I have see no reason why stem cell research causes so much controversey. It is for the betterment of mand kind. How can people call it inhumane when letting sick people die is just as emorral. As long as this new procedure says that it doesn't cause any harm to the mother or the growing baby(which it does), I do not see any problem. We're doing more harm just letting people get sick when we know there are ways to help them. I would really like to here from people who think the oppisite of me because i'm very curious as to your oppinions on this situation. I will post a later entry with a sight attached. Thank you and goodnight :-)Anna *Banana
 

I ment does not for the part about hurting the mom and the baby...sorry!
 

Nevermind i get confused on my wording...let me just say the it states that the new prodedure does not hurt either the mom or the baby. Last time i promise....
 

You said it Banana...stem cell research is an important part of scientific advancement and definitely has the ability better mankind. These cells have the potential of curing many different ailments. The only downfall of the process that I see is that the embryo itself may have to be destroyed. Many will probably argue that this downfall is too much of a problem to be simply overlooked. However, I believe that before we start worrying about the future we should consider the present. Stem cells may be able to cure so many diseases that people are suffering or dieing from everyday, people of all ages. These cells may be able to grow and develop in all of the tissues in the human body so why shouldn’t we give it a try? ~Jaclyn
 

It's a type one disagreement; refusal on both sides to function on a similar - but not necessarily accurate - reality. At the heart of the bottom of this very important debate is an equally troubling question. It’s inevitable that one who comes to one conclusion will feel dismay at the other side’s conclusion. Each side bases its entire argument on one question:

Are fetuses life?

For me, the simple answer is yes. I am in no way, shape, or form endorsing nor am I fueled by any ideology in this belief. Simply put: it has potential to become a self-supporting organism, and there is no point at which you can say potential has become reality, there is no point at which you can say, “It’s a human . . . nnnnnnow!”, there is no point that you can circle on a calendar and mark in red pen, “innocent life begins.” If there’s no time to which the origin of life can be pinpointed, the best thing is to assume, well, right at the beginning, when the sperm fertilizes the egg. Off of this I base my belief.

The entire stem cell debate stems from disagreement on this question. If everybody could acknowledge one way or another, either that it isn’t a full human life until it has full human capabilities, which is adulthood, or that it’s a life when it’s conceived, which is a short while after, assuming the hypothetical person at hand is considering an abortion, a very enjoyable mistake, then there would be no debate over embryonic stem-cell research. If we thought embryos weren’t innocent life, we could kill as many as we want for the sake of ‘actual’ life. If we agreed they were, we would use exclusively adult stem cells.

Going by my assumption that fetuses are innocent life, as worthy --or perhaps more worthy– a candidate for a chance at life as you or I, adult stem cell research is the only option. It find it morally reprehensible to sacrifice the life of an innocent human for another. I have no reason, on the other hand, to complain about adult stem cell research. Scientists will say they’re harder to work with than embryonic stem cells, but I think they can deal with it to save a life. I would.
How about you?
 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3152842/ is a link to some information on stem cell research
 

http://stemcells.nih.gov/
I used this site because i never knew what exactly stem cells are. This helped me understand them more and some other peoples opinion on them. :-D
 

I so agree with Anna...so dearly, As long it doesnt hurt the mother and baby why not research stem cells. people that are sick should be given hope, it's their right ...the right to live or live with hope of a better future.These stem cells are a sort of repair for all body cells. This could help in the regrowth of dead skin cells. Here is a link that i used for the information......

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/
 

So um lets see....my stand point is probably very similar to those of many. I do believe that the stem cell research and its results are a great advancement in the field of science. The research results could lead to the saving of many lives at stake from very serious sicknesses. These stem cells can really help out patients in need. For example, it is possible to make healthy heart cells in a lab and transfer them into a patient with a chronic heart disease. It has been tested in mice and other animals that bone marrow stem cells could be transplanted into a damaged heart forming new, healthy heart muscle cells.

It would be great if this research went without consequences but unfortunately there are. If the mother and baby don't get hurt while removing stem cells, that would be great. But there is a possibility that when trying to remove the stem cells, the mother may get a miscarriage. This is where the anti-abortionists come in to protest against this practice. They believe that the embryo is already a living creature and that we will be killing it. I am not against this practice because of this but hopefully in the future, researchers will find a way to extract the stem cells from the amniotic fluid without causing harm.

Here is the site i found info on stems cells:

Click Here

This site is great!!! It gives animated cartoons that tell what stem cells are and what they do. This site also lists some of the different stem cells that are found in the body. The site gives reasons for why researchers took an interest in the topic and how they test this practice.
 

Well personally I think that this procedure is perfectly okay as long as no one gets hurt in the process then I think it’s great. If it can help sick people then I see no reason for why it can be wrong. Personally I think it would be wrong NOT to at least research and experiment the topic. It would help better the health of some people then by all means do it.

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05217/549236.stm
^website^
 

I think that stem cell research is a step in the right direction. The way that researchers are going about it seems to be safe. With any type of research...their are consequences, but thats how it is. So as long as more advanced procedures occur and the mother and baby are fine, then go for it. The amazing results might be a huge advancment in helping sick people. So i am ALL for this!!!
A website that helped me understand both the procedure and possible results was:
http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/WhatsNew/January_2007.html#1
 

I think that this is an interesting concept. I agree with Anna, I don't get why people think that this is wrong. Like Alex said, it would be great if this could be done without harm to the mother or the baby, but hopefully, with time, we can find a more efficient way to do this. I think that it is worth it to take this risk because we have to do this if we want to eventually find a solution- if that makes any sense (I'm not good at wording things).

I chose this web site because it tells a little bit more about the controversies.

http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/headlines/?SecID=41&ArID=132717
 

Agreeing with Anna banana again, I don't really see what the big deal is with the embryos and for the first time in my life, I am actually agreeing with Elias. I don't see any red pen on the calender that says that the embryo becomes human. Personally, I think the president made a stupid choice by banning the federal funds to support it because it can do great things to help the society. I think if the scientists were allowed to go further with all of the research, things like AIDS and cancers would become clearer and perhaps even a cure. An embryo in my opinion, isn't human until it's human. *giggles* Know what I'm saying?

With the Adult stem cells, I think that this is also great but like Elias said, they're harder to work with. Could taking adult stem cells accidentally hurt the adult and make it harder for him or her to live? *shrugs* My opinion is all over the place, forgive me. :P
 

This is a link that shows why Adult stem cells are better to use than embryo cells though. They may be harder to work with, but here's what they can help with.


http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm

Have fun =]
 

Stem cells.. hmm...

I think stem cell research is an amazing scientific advancement. Its amazing how something as small as a stem cell can be the difference between living and dying from a horrible disease. I do not agree on all aspects of it though. Some ethical questions arise when this subject is brought up.

Is it ok to end a life before it even had a chance to be bought to life?

I don't think so. It goes against my religious and ethical beliefs for an innocent life to be taken without their choice and to end something before it could start. I agree with Elias that there is no point where a fetus is considered an "official" human. Babies should be considered human life from the point there a thumbnail sized fetus to the day they are born.

On this new procedure, I think its great! Getting a life saving stem cell without harm to the mother or baby is just amazing! There is a chance of miscarriage, but with all of the medical advances now and coming, there is no doubt in my mind that that problem will be fixed.

So what do you think?

P.S.- Here's a link for an article on this whole controversy:

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/07/11/stem.cell.fact/
 

i am going to have to agree with most of the class but mainly with brienna and anna...we should use the new research for testing to see if we could use it to help other people who need help...it should be up to the people who need help to be able to try the stem cells to see if they could help them, its not all up to researchers if people should be able to try stem cells... thats not right people should have their own say in matters like this...if its a life or death decision for people because most would want to see if stem cells could help them live.
 

sorry.. the link isn't working so just highlight the URL and just copy and paste.

P.S.- Wow, Elias I didn't realize how much you wrote!
 

I think that stem cells are ok to take from that fluid stuff because it has a low chance of harming the baby and the mother. This kind of research could lead to new kinds of medicines that can fix lots of different kinds of sicknesses. at first i didnt know much about stem cells but this site helped me find out a lot about stem cells

http://stemcells.nih.gov/
 

Ok, so my opinion on stem cells and stem cell research is pretty much the same as everyone elses.

First, I understand why there is such a raging controversey surrounding the issue. It's not only hard to completely understand what is happening, but it is also hard to choose a side in which you are on when it comes to the debate, because there are so many new developments occurring each day.

Personally? I think it's fine to do.

Honestly, stem cell research, at this point, is not hurting the woman or fetus, and so it can only help the situation. These cells help to repair, create new organs for transplants, and in some cases even help to cure diseases - like diabetes. If these cells can save the lifes of people, then do it! I don't see the wrong in saving someone/something.

However, there are also so downfalls when it comes to stem cell research. In some cases, the embryo may be destroyed. I think that if there is this risk, maybe it's not right for someone who takes this into account before doing anything. Also, there is the risk of miscarriage. I think that because it is only a risk, and would not necessarily affect everyone, I don't think that it, or either of these two issues, are big deals that need further explanation.

So, in conclusion (:]) I think that stem cell research, right now, is helping us more than it is hurting us, if you could even consider it hurting us at all. I think that these researchers should continue on with their research, because there are so many more developments to be made.

A link that helped me with my research is:
http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/pros-and-cons-of-stem-cell-research.htm

-the link basically discusses the pros and cons of stem cell research. -Amanda Moody
 

hey. I think that stem cell research is a good thing and i really dont see why some people would be against it. I mean if it doesnt hurt anyone in the process then i think its fine and actually a good thing. If it hurt the mom and/or the baby i might think differently about it. from the way i look at it it looks like its all positive, and there arent many things where there are no negatives in life. Unless the embryo does die. then id have to reconsider, because i believe that an embryo is still a person even if they dont have there own personality or anything like that, i think that they should be given the chance in life to do what they choose and grow up. and im sure some people dont think that embryos are really people. anyways here is a site that i found interesting and that helped me out a little:http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/
This site kinda gave me the basic understanding of things at present.
 

http://news10now.com/content/health/healthy_living/?ArID=91944
I think that getting stem cells from an embryo is just wrong since you are committing murder. The embryo has a right to live and so that is why I would never do that. This procedure solves that problem by supposedly not harming the baby or the mother. If that is the case then I think it is fine that the doctors get the stem cells. However there is “significant risk” to the embryo says Dr. Michael Kaplitt of New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. If that is the case then I think the stem cells should be gotten from the placenta after birth. It is possible to do that according to the article I read. I think that this is a great idea especially since it proposes no harm to the baby. The site is http://news10now.com/content/health/healthy_living/?ArID=91944.
 

Ok. I have to agree with EVERYONE else. Stem cells are very useful for scientific research. Scientists are using them to learn how to operate on human body parts that are very delicate and it allows doctors to do transplants with actual human body tissues. Doctors have done cell stem research on rats and have fixed blindness and paralysis in them. That amazing and who ever doesn’t think that is more worthwhile to human kind then one human embryo, has to look over their priorities. So what is one embryo is killed when millions of blind and paralyzed people can’t fulfill their life to the fullest because they can’t move or see. If they fix those problems then those people can go about and help make the world better by doing scientific research or saving lives as a police officer or a doctor. These disabilities have hampered cultures since the beginning of time and if we find a cure to it, it will make the world better. The stem cells can be used to make blood cells to give to patients in hospitals, who have lost a lot of blood. They can be used to cure neurological diseases and to keep people alive longer. So there might be opposition to this research by people who I usually agree with, but on this issue I have to say that this is necessary, will make the future better and the president should take money out of some where (Not the Middle East) to give money to the scientists because stem cells are the way of the future, no way around it.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/stemcell/

Here is a link to around twenty other links to different sites on the internet that can explain the research, the opposition and their reasons, and the political views of the research.
 

Alright. I agree with everyone else.
A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be coaxed into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body (e.g. blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc). Stem cells research is highly debatable.Much of the debate over stem cells involves whether to allow scientists to extract stem cells from surplus, unneeded, frozen embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures in fertility clinics. When you extract the stem cells it kills the embryos. But a more important thing to consider is whether to allow funding of projects that use currently available stem cells that were removed from embryos in the past. Even though stem cell research can benefit in some ways, destroying the embryos is dangerous and bad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7921548/

This is a good site discussing stem cell research. Plus it shows a clip of the first cloned human embryo in UK!
 

wow--you third period people sure write a lot...anyway....i'm just here to say that...
FIRST PERIOD KICKS BUTT!!!
 

I pretty much agree with everyone else. Stem cell research can help a lot of people become healthier. It doesn't hurt the mother or the baby. I would rather have people being saved and no one hurt than have people dying and no one doing anything about it. Here's a site that I found:

http://stemcells.nih.gov/

It talks about info about stem cells, the current issues, and what stem cells do.
 

wow--you third period people sure write a lot...anyway....i'm just here to say that...
FIRST PERIOD KICKS BUTT!!!
 

OOOOPS!
i wrote it twice
my bad
o well
that just makes my statement more correct
 

Righteo! Well... Sorry to be so boring, but I have to agree with just about everyone else. Haha, how original can I get? =P

If the mother and child are unharmed, then we should continue the research. It helps many, many people and may even shed light on new discoveries that we may not have thought of yet.

Stem cells are capable of self-renewal and differentiation, making them capable of many things that can pretty much only help us move forward.

This is copied from the below site, and I find it extremely fascinating.

"Human embryonic stem cells could be used to seek out and destroy a fatal form of brain cancer. Experiments in mice with brain tumours show that the cells will migrate across the brain and deliver an anti-cancer payload."

And the website is...

http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/human/stemcells.cfm

...created in Australia! It really helps you understand what it's all about, just look at the left column under stem cells.

Hopefully I made sense. Sorry, I'm practically dead on my feet. (Just a figure of speech! xD)
-Megan
 

Previously to this, I had no real knowledge of Stem Cells. I found http://stemcells.nih.gov/ to further my knowledge.

In my opinion, Stem Cells are an amazing achievement in medicine. Stem Cells can help us to understand and perhaps correct errors that cause cancer and birth defects, and everyone should be able to have the chance to live a normal life, right? They can also be used in making cells for medical therapies. Today, for most of the organ transplants needed, there is not that organ available. Stem Cells can treat some of these diseases that cause for a needed transplant. In other words, they can help to prevent diseases and birth defects, making more people live a normal life, with few health problems. Isn't that what everyone would like?
 

Grawr. The address was cut off. -.-

http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/
human/stemcells.cfm

That should work. Just copy and paste each one seperately. You'll figure it out. Enjoy!
-Megan
 

I agree w. anna. How can a process that is so helpful to the human race possibly be looked down upon by some? I mean, stem cell research can be used to cure many different sicknesses and diseases..so why shouldnt modern science be taken advantage of? Yes i know that there is some consequence involved..but i dont believe that that is what should stop the advances. Like miss lechase said, the events of the present are higher priorities than those to come in the future. If stem cells can be used to cure diseases..then let them, for the better of mankind.


hah..sounds kinda cheesey but whatev. =P
~~Kristen~~
 

Linkage::

ok so this site has alot of info about stem cells...such as what they actually are, the types of stem cells, treatments they provide, and it even describes some of the controversey around the whole issue.

click it.
 

Wow next time I should try to go first so I won't have to say I pretty much agree with everyone's opinion here.But I do. Stem cell research has the potential to be a huge solution to different diseases and ailments. There is a downside, but there's a downside in most cases. Maybe with further funding, we can find a way to avoid this, and make stem cell research safer for the mother and child. If we continue to try and prevent the killing of test embryos for research, we could overlook the possibility that further research could mean safer ways to extract stem cells and also make a huge advancement in medicine.
http://www.stemcells.ca/
It talks about stem cell research, the science behind it, and the moral controversy.
 

Marriot...Jessica Woeckener
Period 3

http://www.stemcells.ca/

I used this for my link because lets face it I had no idead what a stem cell was, so it helped my understand it better.


Okay, I agree with most of the people above, I have no problem with stem cells. They could solve many diseases and save many people's lives. I think that its great that they made it so the stem cells wouldn't hurt the embryos. If it did then i would have to disagree. This could for the future make a great advancement that could really help us.
 

Hmm...let's see. Well, I have a couple of personal oppositions to stem cell research. I agree with what Elias said on a fetus being alive. I don't like the idea of harming and killing an unborn human for cells. Also, even if this process is possible without hurting an embryo, I really don't agree with the whole "playing God" thing. It's really against my personal beliefs.
 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-10-stem-cell-usat_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

Here's my link. I agee with the president on the compromised funding. Even though I don't really agree with stem cells, I think that this bill would be better than nothing.
 

okay so i feel that stem cell research is good. i see no reason why anyone would like to know that they could have helped the baby and made their life easier and wouldn't do anything about it. it is stupid to let a baby go on life knowing there could have been something done to help them. as long as the baby and the mother won't get hurt then it should be a good procedure that should be done to help the baby. even if someone is against it, they should really look into it and realize, do they want their child to grow up being sick, possibly not living as long or do they want their child to live a long, healthy and happy life? i mean it should be an easy choice for a loving parent

here is a site talking about the
bill for stem cell research:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-stemcell12jan12,1,7181717.story
 

"I think blah!"
"Well I think blah too!"
"You took the blah right out of my mouth!"

Blah. I think we need a more controversial topic.
 

By the way, an excellent and unbiased resource on stem cell information:

http://stemcells.nih.gov/
 

After reading articles and other peoples comments on stem cells, i have to say that i agree with most peoples opinion. If stem cells are being used for the greater good, then why should there be any controversy over it. If it is going to help sick or dying people, then I don't see why it's a bad idea. If it can't harm anyone, but can only make them better, then i say use it.
 

I think that the stem cell research and its results are a great advancement in science. The research results could lead to the saving of many lives. These stem cells can really help out patients in need. For example, it is possible to make healthy heart cells in a lab and transfer them into a patient with a chronic heart disease. It has been tested in mice and other animals that bone marrow stem cells could be transplanted into a damaged heart forming new, healthy heart muscle cells. The problem is there is a possibility that when trying to remove the stem cells, the mother may get a miscarriage. This is where the anti-abortionists come in to protest against this practice. They believe that the embryo is already a living creature and that we will be killing it. I am not against this practice because of this but hopefully in the future, researchers will find a way to extract the stem cells from the amniotic fluid without causing harm.
i used http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/stemcells/