Why so many controversies over Stem-Cell research?
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| Stem Cell research |
The essay that we read many times while crossing the boundaries of school is 'Science is neither a blessing nor a curse'. There, the pros and cons of science are divided. The study of stem cells is much like that. This study raises a debate about the benefits of curing serious ailments in our bodies and the impact it will have on social life. Despite this, the focus of scientists is on stem cell research, and the research is ongoing!
Our whole body is made up of billions of cells. The character of these cells is again not the same. These cells contain chromosomes that look like ribbons. The number of chromosomes in all human cells except germ cells i.e. sperm and ovum are the same: either 23 pairs or 48 pairs.
In the case of germ cells alone, this number is reduced by half. The number of chromosomes in the first cell, the owner of these 23 chromosomes, the sperm, and the ovum combine to form 23 pairs. The first cell to form is called a stem cell. The baby that grows slowly in the womb begins its triumph from these stem cells. The character of this stem cell is very different from the other five normal cells in our body. And its power? There is no comparison with normal cells.
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| Why Stem Cell research is controversial |
Stem cells play a huge role in the formation of all the organs from our toenails to our hair. The most surprising thing is that the cells that are being formed by dividing the stem cells are of different characters. Someone is making the heart, how many other cells are busy making the lungs. Scientists are so fond of stem cells that they can make different cells of different characters from one cell.
There are usually three types of stem cells. The first sperm cell to be formed as a result of the union of sperm and egg is called a "totipotent". It comes from the English word ‘total potential’, meaning omnipotent stem cell.
A whole body with all its organs is made from that one cell. But totipotent germ cells do not divide at first and form organs. The cells that they divide make the exact carbon copy of the first cell. If these newly formed totipotent sprout cells are allowed to grow separately, they each have the ability to produce a single human baby. Totipotent germ cells form a lump when they begin the process of forming different parts of the body. The name is Blastocyst.
The cells in the blastocyst continue to divide and grow. The stem cells that are being formed there are different from the totipotent. They make cells of different characters. Some are making blood, some are skin. Such sprouts are called pluripotent, which means they have many potentials.
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| How Stem Cells are made |
These cells break down on their own again. First, one to two, then two to four, four to eight, thousands of cells are formed by breaking down in this way. But all cells are the same. Named multipotent.
Totipotent and pluripotent stem cells are not found anywhere else except in a single embryo. But multipotent shoot cells can be found in the body of people of any age. For example, in the skin and blood of our skin.
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Different blood cells, such as red, white, and nucleus, live for a certain period of time. After that, we survive because new people come and work instead of the dead. Multipotent stem cells are behind the delivery of these new fresh cells.
The name Stem Cell was first introduced to the public by Alexander A. Maximow in 1909. He was studying how blood cells are made. But in 1973, Ernest McCulloch and James Till, two Canadian scientists, created the first blood sprouts.
Since then, much research has been done on this subject. Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka goes a little further with the work of James Thomson. In 2007, he shocked the world by showing that skin cells could be transformed into germ cells by slightly altering the function of genes.
Research over the last 50 years has indicated that diseased or damaged cells can be identified and replaced with new healthy cells. But where will different types of healthy cells be made from? Solution stem cells.
The study that has the potential to bring a medical epoch, why is there so much controversy about those stem cells? In fact, the controversy is about the embryo, the origin of these stem cells. Test-tube baby is not unknown now. In this case, doctors collect sperm and eggs from childless couples and create many embryos in a suitable environment in the laboratory. From it, pluripotent stem cells are made.
The test tube baby method is somewhat followed in sperm cell research. But the method of collecting embryos and its use is being left out. Scientists are using useless embryos to make sperm cells. After that, the rest is being destroyed by making different organs as required. And this is where various religious and human rights organizations and some people from different walks of life are objecting.
According to them, one of these embryos will be able to give birth to one child if given the opportunity. The arguments of scientists and their supporters have been blown away by the pressure. Many developed countries have been forced to partially or completely ban germ cell research in response to pressures from all walks of life.
The limited number of sprouts that are now being treated is very expensive. If full germ cell treatment is not introduced, the cost will not reach the common men. In this debate, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the stem.
Author: Shoaib Rahman, founder-Fadewblogs
