Stem cells are special cells that have the potential to develop into many different types of tissue: bone, muscle, nerve, etc. In theory, they could be grown into replacements for almost any part of the human body. Stem cells are typically found in the embryo and umbilical cord of an organism, and in reservoirs w

To many, stem cell research poses a serious moral problem. One major source of stem cells (though not the only one) is human embryos. Which is more important: potential cures for deadly diseases or respect for human life? From the perspective of pro-life people, abortion is a terrible thing. This is the major source of stem cells, but to them, using aborted fetuses would just be immoral. The same goes for embryos obtained from infertility clinics: harvesting stem cells destroys the embryos. They also are worried that stem cell research will provide an excuse for people to clone human embryos for research.

The stem cells found in children and adults are multipotent, there are no totipotent cells since these only appear early on in development. Pluripotent cells are present, but are much rarer and more difficult to isolate. The more useful stem cells are the pluripotent and totipotent types, but there is a problem: these types of cells are readily found only in developing human fetuses and any extraction of the cells will kill the unborn human. This is what troubles many people, and they question the worth of stem cell research. Later research, though, suggests that human multipotent cells can have pluripotent capability. Such research would not use human embryos, and therefore would not cause a public controversy. Adult stem cells are showing much potential, and many who do not want embryos killed look toward these cells to provide us with cures.

Stem cells are best described in relation to normal human development. When a sperm cell joins with an egg inside a woman (the very first moment of a human’s life), it becomes a very basic life form whose cells are totipotent. Totipotent cells are the least developed of Stem Cells, and are very useful because they have th

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