is embryonic stem cell research a prudent investment?
Embryonic stem cells, as most of you know, are the unspecialized cells that form the basic building blocks for all of the 220 specialized cell types in your body. By harvesting and manipulating these master cells, researchers hope to treat diseases. Currently the primary sources for embryonic stem cells are aborted fetuses and donated and unused embryos housed in IVF (in vitro fertilization) facilities. To obtain embryonic stem cells, an embryo is formed and allowed to mature for five to seven days. The inner mass of the stem cells is then removed, plated, and treated with chemicals to become specialized cell types. The problem is that in this process the embryo itself is destroyed. How Is Embryonic Stem Cell Research Related to Cloning? The distinction between “reproductive cloning” and “therapeutic cloning” is misleading because the technology involved is essentially the same. The most common practice for obtaining a clone is simply to enucleate an egg (that is, remove its DNA),
