1. What is the technology or application itself? How is it used? What are the relevant facts about it?
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo.
General info (science daily).
ES cells are pluripotent, that is, they are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm.
These include each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body.
Pluripotency distinguishes embryonic stem cells from adult stem cells found in adults; while embryonic stem cells can generate all cell types in the body, adult stem cells are multipotent and can produce only a limited number of cell types.
Additionally, under defined conditions, embryonic stem cells are capable of propagating themselves indefinitely.
This allows embryonic stem cells to be employed as useful tools for both research and regenerative medicine, because they can produce limitless numbers of themselves for continued research or clinical use.
After many months of growth in culture dishes, these remarkable cells maintain the ability to form cells ranging from muscle to nerve to blood—potentially any cell type that makes up the body. The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia.
some potential application include the following:
- Tissue engeneering
- cell replacement theripies
- repair of DNA dammage
2. Based on research of specific examples, what are reasons for and against using this application of genetics?
For | Against |
---|---|
The wide range of diseases it can treat | The process of harvesting stem cells |
The idea that at the embryonic stage, some might not consider the cells as humans or babies yet. Therefore, harvesting the ES cells is better than having people get disease. | Cell are harvested from embryos |
Canada does allow Stem Cell Research as long as they receive approval from the Stem Cell Oversight Committee (SCOC). For more information: https://ethics.gc.ca/eng/tcps2-eptc2_2018_chapter12-chapitre12.html#f
This technology includes the process of destroying the human embryos. This is controversial because there are debates of when life begins. Some people believe that life begins in the embryos and thus the embryos should have the same moral rights as humans. Some other people believe that life doesn't start until after the embryo stage. Some other people believe that life doesn't start until after the embryo stage. Whether killing embryos is the same as kililing a human remains in debate. Therefore, this technology has been largely controversial.
Lo, Bernard, and Lindsay Parham. "Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research." Endocrine Reviews 30.3 (2009): 204-13. Web. May 12, 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/
5. Who are the stakeholders in the ethical issue? Who or what could be affected by how the question is resolved, whether that be for or against its continued use? How will they be affected? (hint: think about implications like moral, ethical, social, economic, environmental, political, etc)
If this issue is resolved to be considered ethical, then the human embryos are going to be farmed as a place to retrieve ES cells. Thus we are potentially farming our own species and use those “potential humans” as a way to obtain their cells in order to treat diseases Since this technology is used for curing diseases, if the issue is resolved to be considered unethical, then patients / people who have concerns about those diseases will not be pleased. This would probably continue to be a topic of controversy even it is considered unethical. Government researchers are also in the process of researching new ways to cure the same diseases to replace editing of embryo STEM cells, when or if the public decides that it is ethical, who would fund researches for further cures?
"Stem Cell Research: Uses, Types & Examples." Healthline. -09-04T07:00:00.000Z 2012. Web. May 13, 2021 https://www.healthline.com/health/stem-cell-research.
when we ask if this is ethial we quicky approch the question of "is the life of one person, worth saving many more?" and this is a strange question to have to answer. At this point it is also relivant to bring up the fact that a child in the womb can't feel pain until the third trimester. In our opinion the sacrifice of the potential life of one child or one embryo is definitely worth the possible benefits we might gain from this.
We think that the embryonic STEM technology should be allowed but with the current Canadian regulations (from question/slide 3).