Chapter 18 - Cloning and Stem Cells

Abstract

Stem cells have ignited controversy among groups of politicians, religious leaders, and many people in the public. Whether scientists should study stem cells is hotly debated in the United States, but other parts of the world are also creating rules and regulations as to the use and study of stem cells. Many of the reports seen in the media provide a very negative slant to the use of stem cells in scientific research, but most of the reports do not explain the reason stem cells are so controversial. In addition, most of the accounts do not explain what a stem cell is and why scientists want to study them. One of the key goals for this chapter is to provide the answers to these questions and to describe the importance these cells have in your tissues and organs. Because of the key role stem cells play in our body, the idea of using stem cells to cure diseases and disabilities has evolved. This chapter explains the motive and current state of research for the use of stem cells in some therapies. Most importantly, the chapter distinguishes between the types of stem cells that are the focus of the heated political debates and the other types of stem cells, and the continuum of characteristics that range between these types of cells.