Thursday, 2 May 2013

Bibliography


  1. TechNyou, Embryonic stem cells, 10/3/13

  1. E. Cattaneo, 27/8/12, What are human embryonic stem cells used for?, 10/3/13
  1. C. Pope, 8/12/10, Chronic liver disease: how could regenerative medicine help?, 10/3/13http://www.eurostemcell.org/it/node/15481
Jesse Guo 10F
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Analysis of Sources Used


Analysis of Resources

I used a wide range of sources throughout my presentation, including opinionated and non-opinionated websites, and cartoons. Websites I used that were legitimate and official, included Oxford Journals, NCBI, EuroStemCell, TechNYou and PerthNow. Oxford Journals and TechNYou were used for my general information and understanding of the topic. They produced unbiased facts, pictures and information I used mostly in my first submission. I can believe their accuracy of information and legitimacy because one of the websites is under the Oxford University and the they are both officially sponsored sites. Oxford Journals gave extremely in depth information as opposed to TechNYou. As such, TechNYou was easier to understand, due to the fact that Oxford Journals used very formal language and terms that I have not come across.


The argumentative sites I used included ODEC, EuroStemCell, Perthnow, Bootstrike, and a Yahoo Voices page. All were written by the sites themselves, except for the Yahoo Voices page, which was written by an individual named Adam Doran, who was apparently a police officer from Kansas. All websites had arguments for both sides, except Bootstrike and Yahoo Voices, which were both 'for' arguments. I found that Bootstrike was very biased and some arguments were not factual, rather opinionated. The Yahoo Voices page was also quite opinionated. These sites were accurate, as I compared them to the official sites, but possibly not as reliable, example being the Yahoo Voices page, and how it is too one sided.

I also used two cartoons that the ODEC website had listed, and although not listing the source, seemed to be from a newspaper. The cartoons were reliable, but biased against the use of embryonic stem cells, they are also easy to understand. They conveyed a strong message, especially with the use of an unborn baby, not sure whether it will grow out or not.

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Discussion - My Opinion


My Opinion

A discussion point raised at regular interval involves the debate on whether or not embryonic stem cells should be used. I strongly believe that we should use embryonic stem cells, as they are a more efficient alternative over methods we have previously used, the use of them is not as immoral as some arguers say, and the benefits that can be produced from their use is great.
The main alternative for this kind of method is the use of adult stem cells. While adult stem cells are a relatively useable source, they are not as efficient as embryonic stem cells. Within a maturing embryo, the stem cells found and useable in it add up to quite a large portion of the embryo. Useable adult stem cells are found in only lesser amounts, and must be taken from mature adult individuals. Embryonic stem cells divide faster than adult stem cells, which allows for them to generate larger amounts of stem cells at any one time,  boosting the immediate chance of need during an emergency, i.e. adult stem cells produce slower than embryonic stem cells, so when a patient could need them immediately, adult stem cells may not be ready. A specific adult stem cell may possibly only be able to be used on a certain type of tissue, as opposed to embryonic stem cells, whose high plasticity level allows for flexibility in their change, thus, being able to be used in multiple types of treatments and diseases.

Many pro-life supporters (people against the use of embryonic stem cells) constantly press on the unethical and immoral factor of embryonic stem cell usage. I personally do not believe that the use of them is the equivalent to 'taking a person's life' as some refer to it as. Embryonic stem cells are not at the same value as a human life, and it is much more beneficial for us to use them to cure potential life-threatening diseases and/or infections for the people that live now, rather than just possibly grow them into another person on the planet that could be attacked by the disease we did not find a cure for. A process called IVF, in vitro fertilization, always leaves many unused embryos, which are later discarded and wasted. Would it not be more practical to keep them and at least use their stem cells for the good of science, and of human kind?

The most prominent factor behind wanting to use embryonic stem cells, is most obviously, the benefits we can discover. The stem cells could help in recovery and cures against physical, mental and even genetic diseases, as embryonic stem cells can mould into nearly any tissue. This theory has been tested before, where a veterinary surgeon injected stem cells from a lame dog's fat into it's weak, damaged areas of it's body, and cured it, which allowed the lame dog to walk once again. We can also use embryonic stem cells to enhance our research, by producing artificial tissue from embryonic stem cells, dangerous drugs and medicines, with consequences unknown, can be tested on the fake tissue safely in a laboratory.

To conclude, the use of embryonic stems is very advantageous, and completely outweighs the insignificant costs and so-called potentials. I hope in future that embryonic stem cells may be used by science to assist in evolving our world, so that overall our world will improve.
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Arguments - AGAINST


1. There is a long, ongoing debate about whether embryos can be counted as lives,
and whether or not it is ethical and/or moral to extract the stem cells from them. Anti-
use arguers argue that embryos are of the same value of human lives, and should be
treated as such, I.e. not to be killed and have their stem cells used. The possibility for
life for the potential human that could've evolved from the embryonic stem cell is cut
short, and some argue that it is at a similar level to that of killing a human. It can be

 seen as unethical to use these embryonic stem cells, to combat diseases such as liver.

 2. There are many suitable alternatives to use over the embryonic stem cell method,
for example, adult stem cells. This argument is supported by anti-embryonic stem cell
use arguers and adult stem cell specialists. These arguers frequently state that the use
of adult stem cells in body parts such as umbilical cords have generated more reliable
and promising results. The money, time and resources used for embryonic stem cell
research could otherwise be invested into adult stem cell research, which could speed
up the research for adult stem cells, rather than slow it down by wasting money, time and
resources on embryonic stem cell research.

 3. The so-claimed capacity and potential for embryonic stem cell research is yet to be
completely proven. Criticism is even received from researchers, "some of the public
pronouncements in the field of stem-cell research come close to over promising at best
and delusional fantasizing at worst.", quoted from Princeton University president and
geneticist Shirley Tilghman, which just shows how uncertain the future of embryonic stem
cell research is.
Cartoon 1: This cartoon shows a picture of an unborn embryo that is unsure whether it will even survive up to being born, due to embryonic stem cell research.
 Source: http://www.stmatthewsnj.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/Picture%202.png


Cartoon 2: This cartoon explains that it becomes quiet after an embryonic stem cell research lab opens up. This is implying that the laboratory kills babies, thus, why it is so apparently quiet.
Source: http://www.bioethics.gov/images/lauritzen_cartoon.gif
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Arguments - FOR


1. The advantages of using embryonic stem cell for liver disease are greater than the cost
of using the human embryo. The cells are able to be grown in laboratory environments and
are able to grow into a large amount of different types of body tissue.
Although embryos have a great amount of use and potential, are not of the same value
as human lives itself, thus, have more advantageous use being used to cure current
living human diseases rather than to grow out into potential humans. “Approximately
18% of zygotes do not implant after conception…” (http://bootstrike.com/Genetics/
StemCells/debate.php), from this data, it can be inferred that much more human
embryos die from this rather than donated to laboratories for experiments. Some people
argue that embryos are not the same as humans, and that an embryo can only be
classified as a human after its first heartbeat, which happens when the brain starts to
develop activity.
IVF (in vitro fertilization) always produces large amounts of unused embryos, which many
of are discarded. Using them for scientific research is a much more efficient and practical
use, rather than have them wasted.

 2. Embryonic stem cells are a better alternative as opposed to adult stem cells. In a
developing embryo, embryonic stem cells make up a substantial portion of the embryo,
whereas useable adult stem cells are found in very little quantities in mature adult
individuals. Adult stem cells do not divide as quickly as embryonic stem cells, which
could possibly make it harder to create large amounts of the cells, and could also not
have enough cells ready at any immediate time. Embryonic stem cells also have a higher
plasticity level, which allows them to be used in treatment for more types of diseases.

 3. The use of embryonic stem cells could assist in the recovery of many physical, mental
and genetic diseases. An example of this is that veterinary surgeons have, by injecting
stem cells from the dog's fat into it's damaged areas, cured dogs with arthritis and
given them the ability to walk again. Embryonic stem cells can also help in research, as
sometimes, when drugs and medicines need to be tested, they are tested on humans and
animals, and can potentially result in detrimental effects to the subjects body. These kind
of tests can be experimented on tissue created from embryonic stem cells in a laboratory,
so consequences will not matter.
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Introduction to Embryonic Stem Cells and Liver Disease (1st Submission)

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