Stem Cell Research

A collaborative volume of articles and information on stem cells was published by the Financial Times and Scientific American. The editors present information on the current and future state of stem cell research technology, a scientific discovery with the potential to cure many debilitating diseases from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to the potential capacity to regenerate dead nerve tissues in spinal cord injury victims. Despite the promise of stem cell research, the Bush Administration has already banned federal funding from any stem cell lines not currently being used. Such attitudes stem from the potential dangers that stem from the source of stem cells, fetal tissue. From cloning pools of humans merely to serve as research storehouses to helping paraplegics walk again, the editors present a series of articles that deal with these and other issues.

Clive Cookson's The Mother of All Cells is primarily an informative article that describes stem cells as "biological repair systems" that have the ability to grow into many different forms of "specialized" cells, (Rennie and Barber, 2005, p. A6). Pluripotent Embryonic stem cells (or "ES cells") are those that have the most potential for specialization and development, but they must be cultivated from fetal tissue as the stem cells available in adults have much less capacity, (Rennie, & Barber, 2005). Cookson admits that such cells have enormous potential to help cure diseases and co

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