stem cell research
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Media Information Gathering
In-depth story
Research on stem cells is advancing knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. Stem cells are one of the most fascinating areas of biology today, but like many expanding fields of scientific inquiry, research on stem cells raises scientific questions as rapidly and it generates new discoveries. To understand how stem cells have come to be, you have to understand its history and why this discovery could be the medicine of the future.
In late 1998, a group of scientists led by University of Wisconsin-Madison developmental biologist James Thomson became the first in the world to successfully isolate and culture human embryonic stem cells. Because embryonic stem cells are the precursor cells to all other cell types in the human body, this accomplishment has set the stage for a revolution in medicine and basic biology.
The discovery of stem cells created a scientific sensation, and an immediate controversy, because the cells fell under a ban that prohibited federal funds from being used for research involving human fetal tissue. In a nationally televised speech on August 9, 2001, President Bush ended months of deliberation on the issue of federal funding of stem cell research. He stated that the Administration will support continued funding research on stem cell lines which have already been extracted.
Once the cells are removed from the embryo, they are placed into a cell culture. This means that they are put in a dish with a supportive medium of food in the proper environment for growth...