Understanding Stem cells and Therapeutic Cloning (Essay Sample)

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Understanding Stem cells and Therapeutic Cloning
Definition
Therapeutic cloning can be said to be a process in which cells are extracted from a patient and inserted in a fertilized egg whose nucleus is normally removed. The cell that comes out as a result is normally stipulated to form a blastocyst. This is a huge mass that entails about 200 cells. It is at this stage that stem cells are retrieved from the blastocyst and mostly used in the growing of tissues (Roco 67). These tissues are normally a perfect genetic match for most patients. These stem cells can be used in treating diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Review
Stem cells are vital as they assist in the dementia research. One major concern is the creation of SCNT that is based on the human stem cell. This leads to the reproductive cloning of humans. In this process, there is the creation of a nuclear transferred embryo. Cloning entails therapeutic and reproductive cloning as an emerging technology. There is therefore need to focus more on the implications of cloning as far as human lives are concerned. Human therapeutic cloning seems to be showing a great promise as far as science is concerned (Roitt 143). This is so because the clone can produce a stem cell that has been gotten from other patients and used to treat various diseases that seem to be very hard to be cured by ordinary medications. The experiments however need unfertilized eggs. This process is normally very uncomfortable and needs counseling to be performed before it is administered to an individual.
The big challenge is to persuade these cells to be compatible with the new body system and the body to accept the new cell in its system (Lanza 365). Once this is done, then the process can be considered to be a success. It is observed that an embryo obtains features of a human being when it is undergoing gestation where the brain develops and becomes aware of it. For instance, when an individual has dementia and his brain cells are destroyed, there is need to perform stem cell research (Smajdor 563). In therapeutic cloning, the main idea is to reduce the list of patients waiting for organs to be transplanted. This process ensures that the stem cells are retrieved from the pre-embryo and transplanted to the person who had the DNA. A stem cell is very much important as it assists in various ways. For instance, it can be used in the therapeutic cloning so as to make embryonic stem cell have a better genetic makeup. The research can also be used to ensure the production of larger cells so as to be in a position to test drugs. This research however has to be regulated by the government so as to prevent destruction of human lives. All research that involves stem cells must be licensed by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. It is however not legal to place an animal embryo in a woman or a human embryo in an animal.
There is a vision in the successful creation of therapies in that, each stem cell has an identical stem that carries the DNA of the patient. The cells that are usually created by therapeutic cloning in most cases may be transplanted to a certain patient so as to treat an individual’s disease. A human embryonic cell has for a long time been converted into an insulin producing cell. There are however various dangers that are associated with the prion. If a stem cell that was already infected is used, most patients may also be affected (Smajdor, 876). However, the damage is always limited to a specific part where the cell is produced. Stem cell research is an ongoing event that is more extensive on the evaluation and testing of tissues. ES cells may be used in the reprogramming of somatic cells instead of using the eggs (Smajdor 564). Most people tend to wonder on the big question where the magic lies. The big issue is to determine if it lies in the ES cell nucleus or in the cytoplasm. The production of the youthful cells and other tissues are mostly genetically compatible with different patients making the process to be a success. The cellular reprogramming may also be the treatment for chronic diseases.
In Therapeutic cloning, it can be said that, one of its pros as stipulated in the scholar articles is that, the motivation of medical research is mostly consequentiality. As much as the research is procedural and involves mostly embryos, the resulting outcome mostly outweighs human material costs. On the other hand, some of the researchers argue that, there are absolutely no moral considerations when this process is implied (Lanza, 234). There is also loss of embryo during this process as not all the embryos that are placed into the process turn out to be a success. Some are sometimes affected by the new environment and may seize to operate effectively. This science has been questioned by various experts. The human embryo is expected to be given a higher value and be regarded with dignity as it is this that results to life of a human being (Holder 345). There is no need to utilize embryo stem cells and according to the previous research, this research has been placed in use by the adult stem cells. These cells are however replaceable and are mostly used in treatment and replacing the default embryos. The requisite research cannot therefore be attained without the use of the stem cells and this is only found in the embryos.
Ethical issues
The therapeutic cloning tends to have an ethical perspective. Some scientists believe that it is not ethical to perform cloning on human beings, as it interferes with the development of the cloned product. Scientists believe that extracorporeal embryos have a moral status and should be treated with respect (Rosner 768). The gamete source, where the sperms and eggs brought about by these eggs, tend to have a unique connection and this should be controlled. According t...