However, they still have not actually been told what to become yet. As the embryo continues to develop, the pluripotent cells become multipotent, which specifically produce blood, skin, nerve, or other types of body cells. After the baby is born, stem cells become much rarer to find inside a human. .
.
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. .
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. .
Many people ask, "What is currently being done about Stem Cells, and what possible uses could be in store?" First off, current research on stem cells is focused on how stem cells differentiate into specific types of cells.
