Stem Cells and Therapeutic Cloning
Embryonic stem cells were grown in a laboratory successfully in 1998. At that time researchers were able to have the stem cells begin copying themselves without becoming anything further (Easterbrook, 2000). This was an exciting time for researchers to begin discovering this new technology. The therapeutic cloning process begins when the nucleus is removed from a human egg and replaced with the nucleus of a body cell from the person who needs to be treated. The resulting hybrid cells can be grown outside the person’s body in a laboratory. The cells divide to form a collection of cells called a blastocyst, which is essentially the early stage of a human embryo. The cells in the blastocyst are called stem cells, because unlike most of the cells in the human body, they are not yet specialized to carry out particular jobs (K.E. Hammel, PhD., personal communication, April 23, 2006). That is, if these cells receive the right instructions, more......
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