ThinkDoLearn Biology Blog

Talk about stem cell research in the social or scientific world you will have created a deep division between any groups you may be talking to. Just like abortion, homosexuality, and affirmative action this country is constantly debating whether stem cell research should be allowed as lawful in today’s society. Stem cell research, known in the scientific community as therapeutic cloning, is a great medical discovery. However, it is unethical, and until there is a change in the process it should never be performed, or even considered as an option for human health.
Therapeutic cloning is the process in which a five day old embryo (called a blastocyst) is stripped of its stem cells. The embryo is destroyed in the process, and the stem cells will be stored for later use. The importance of therapeutic cloning is to obtain the stem cells that will be used to make diverse body organs. This is possible only because of the stem cells unique ability to divide and become any specialized cell of the body. Then these cells will divide go from cells to tissues to organs. This creates the possibility of growing organs. This would save many people who die form waiting on a medical list for a heart, kidney, pancreas, or liver transplant. This would also provide a possible cure for all cancers, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The only problem is that it kills a possible living being. The embryo that is destroyed in this process; is the same embryo in fertilization that becomes a baby. This is where the conflict arises. The church has been the greatest group against therapeutic cloning, especially the Roman Catholic Church, believing cloning violates God’s will or the natural order of life. I agree with this because the embryo dies. However, I think that it isn’t wrong if there is a way to remove the stem cells and yet keep the embryo alive so it grows into a healthy baby. (2.Biblography)“Dr. Richard Doerflinger, a frequent spokesman for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said his church favored equal protection for all embryos, damaged as well as healthy.”
Through frequent research I have found a few claims which state that they can perform this therapeutic cloning without killing the embryo. One turned out to be false, which (sadly) was forged by a formerly recognized stem cells research scientist named Woo Suk Hwang. However, a process called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is the process where an unfertilized egg (oocyte) is tricked to divide (as if it were hit by a sperm) by being introduced to a chemical called ionomycin. This causes the oocyte to eventually become a zygote, and allow a biologist to pull stem cells from the embryo while preserving future life. The problem to this is that oocyte ends up with 2 sets of female chromosomes like a somatic cell, not allowing fertilization to take place. This prevents a baby from being born.
I have a solution to this issue. I have an idea that I believe will end all debate to the conflict between the ethics of therapeutic cloning. I propose that instead of using the egg for cloning use polar bodies. Polar bodies are created when the egg first begins to divide. The purpose of polar bodies is just to take away the extra chromosomes from the egg and die. So what I propose is that instead of letting the polar body die introduce ionomycin to it causing it to divide like an oocyte would in parthenogenesis. Then stop the introducing the chemical after all the daughter cells become haploids. Then separate the haploids and introduce ionomycin to them again. This will cause them to divide and eventually become zygotes. Then once they are blastocysts remove the stem cells. Then the process if parthenogenesis will begin again and you have just begun a stem cell production cycle.
Now my idea may not work, but that is ok. The main thing that needs to be known is if there is no ethical and right way this found to do therapeutic cloning it should not be done, nor ever considered again. Right now biologist and doctors need to try to find other alternatives to cure our major diseases. Medication and vaccines are still options that are mostly ethical and do save lives. So for now let’s try to do something we known are right and saves lives.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml
2.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E2D8163DF932A35751C0A96493.C8B63&sec=health&pagewanted=1
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning
5.www.newscientist.com/channel/sex/stem-cells/dn8557-hwang-faked-all-research-on-human- stem-cells.html
6.http://home.comcast.net/~john.kimball1/BiologyPages/S/Sexual_Reproduction.html
7.http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/