Stem Cells The Fundamental Building Units Of The Human Body

Stem Cell Research Stem cells are the fundamental building units of the human body. They serve as a repair system internally. Dividing and restoring broken tissues to continue to develop. Each cell continues to divide to create another cell or to stay as a stem cell and continue to regenerate and divide as long as the organism is alive. Stem cells are very unique from other cells. They are distinguished and special; they are able to â€Å"renew† themselves through the splitting of cells, a process called â€Å"cell division† (National Institute of Health). Stem cells can split and divide as much as possible and can turn into a more specific cell when the body lack of it (Furcht and Hoffman liv). On the other hand, there are only certain places†¦show more content†¦Researchers extract stem cells by â€Å"destroying human embryos.† (Konsen 2-3). This is where the ethical and moral debate started. These cells are taken from fertilized eggs (egg cells extracted from the woman reproductive system) through â€Å"in vitro fertilization,† a procedure that bonds the egg and the sperm in an unnatural way or in a lab facility rather than inside a human body. Then these fertilized eggs are â€Å"donated for research purposes† but only with the permission of the owner of the fertilized eggs (National Institutes of Health). When donated cells are received by scientists and researchers, they are cultured and grown in laboratories, known as the process of â€Å"cell culture.† These cells are then produced by â€Å"transferring cells from a preimplantation,† which means that â€Å"the human embryo has not yet implanted in the wall of the uterus.† During this process the cells are placed in an instrument where they are grown and refined. This instrument contains a liquid â€Å"culture† which shelters the cells and nourishes while also supporting the said cells. These â€Å"culture medium† can also affect the growing mechanism that has been put into the instrument used to form the anticipated difference of the cells. After this, they then start a cycle of subculturing to create stem lines. These lines are used for different research on genetics and other branches of science to make advances in each field. In mostly all phases of the procedure, sets of these