Stem cell research.

The phrase 'stem cells' seems to be in the news frequently for one reason or another. Whether it's regarding some new research that has been published or a research grant or a scientist working on stem cells, somehow it manages to make the headlines. What is it about stem cells that make it so news worthy? What are stem cells and why is research into this area gaining so much prominence?

Before delving into the research being conducted, it would be pertinent to look at what exactly stem cells are and how they are different from any other cells in the body. Stem cells are basically those cells which do not have any specialized function and as such can be made to perform any function in the human body. Scientists collect stem cells and mix them up with a combination of proteins. When mixed in this way, stem cells are able to perform specific functions quite efficiently. These functions may include treatment of a really complicated or fatal disease. Stem cells can be used to treat various diseases including spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and genetic disorders.

By now, you must be having a clear idea as to why stem cells are gaining in importance. It is their healing potential that is motivating many scientists to delve deeper and extensively research them. Some of the pros of stem cell research include the ability to preserve organs for a longer period of time and effective transplantation. Now, as you can imagine, whenever a new scientific technique comes about, there are its advantages as well as disadvantages. Objective readers such as you should know both sides of the story. We discussed the advantages above. Let's look at the disadvantages now. There is one great disadvantage, and that is the fact that human embryos are destroyed in order to obtain those very stem cells which are then used to cure diseases. This is the basic argument used against stem cell research. Stem cells have to be obtained from human embryos - and many people feel that destroying human embryos for stem cell research is a grave misdoing.

Another con of this research is that scientists are very reluctant to use adult stem cells. This is because, according to them, the best stem cells can only be obtained from human embryos. However, this view is now fast changing and there are many scientists who are insisting on using adult stem cells to avoid controversy. The pros and cons, described above, define many of the issues in stem cell research. As one can imagine, issues related to this research are both political as well as moral. Obviously, the political implications of this issue is that many governments are gaining or losing popularity based on whether they support this research or not. There are many prolife activists who are going around condemning this research, while there are those who feel that many lives are being saved because of stem cell therapy. The major ethical issue is of course to do with the use of cells from human embryos, which many feel is definitely not something that should become widespread.

As the proponents and opponents of stem cell research argue among themselves, let's look at the Islamic perspective. According to many Islamic scholars, there is nothing wrong with using stem cells if they have a huge potential to cure deadly diseases. However, many of these scholars have, placed a lot of emphasis on imploring scientists to try and use alternative means of acquiring stem cells, for instance by using adult stem cells. Considering all that you have read above, what do you think is the future of stem cell research? As stated above, it is now much easier to use adult stem cells rather then in those of the embryos, and many scientists are focusing on this. Moreover, if stem cell research proves useful, there are long term implications for the medical field and how diseases are treated. In fact, if stem cell therapy gains momentum, before we know it, the phrase 'fatal disease' may become obsolete.
But to make all these miracles possible, extensive research into adult stem cells needs to be undertaken. How much they can cure and how they might cure specific diseases needs to be investigated. And if you're wondering how you can make a difference, keeping yourself updated and informed about this issue is one suggestion. If you used to switch the channel whenever any news about stem cells came on, well now you can keep it tuned in. The terminology shouldn't be alien to you anymore.

_{source Spider Mag.}