Cons of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

  Also known as master cells, stem cells are the chief sources of other specialized cells in the body. Under right sets of condition, be it in the human body or in vitro, stem cells have the ability to divide and form other daughter stem cells. Stem cells have two unique and extremely beneficial properties. Firstly, they have the ability to differentiate into different types of body cells, called as differentiation, which is a remarkable characteristic in itself. Secondly, they can regenerate to form more daughter stem cells (termed as self-regeneration). When a sample of stem cells is left to multiply for many days, it forms a series of many stem cells, called as "stem cell lines". The uniqueness of stem cells comes from the fact that they have the natural ability to multiply and form different body cells, with specific functions.

Stem cells that are obtained from embryos are called as embryonic stem cells. During the early stages of development of an embryonic cell, i.e. when it is four to five days old, it is called as 'blastocyst'. These cells multiply many times and have a great potential for medical breakthrough in treating several diseases. Some other sources of stem cells are adult stem cells, that are usually found in the bone marrow. For a long time, medical community believed that adult stem cells are less versatile than embryonic stem cells. However, recent years have seen a change in such views, as scientists are discovering more secrets of adult stem cells. Using the technique of nuclear reprogramming, scientists have found a way to convert adult stem cells into embryonic stem cells, making a great platform for path-breaking results in the future.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Debate: Controversy
In human beings, when a woman's egg is fertilized by sperms, embryos are formed in the earliest stages of fertilization. Extracting stem cells from embryo kills it and that raises many ethical questions regarding the research of stem cells. Stem cells, in the earlier stages of its research were obtained from aborted fetuses and from embryos in the In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) within six days of insemination. If embryos that are developed through IVF are not required anymore by women opting for it, it is stored properly and donated for research purposes. For people who believe that life begins at conception, or just at the formation of embryo, it is inhumane to kill blastocyst in embryonic cells for obtaining stem cells. Many people are of the view that stem cells may be extracted from dead fetuses or from other parts of the body like bone marrow and skin. While research is going on in this field, extracting stem cells from skin or bone marrow, is quite a difficult procedure as compared to the ease of obtaining stem cells from embryos.

Embryonic stem cell research debate was hottest topic in international media in the recent few years. While some say that man must not try to become 'God', it is assumed that scientists and medical experts are all gung ho about the ability of stem cells to replace degenerated body parts.