Thesis Statement

Although stem cell research is an ongoing controversial topic, many professionals in the science and medical fields view it as a necessary method that has many benefits. There are so many uses for stem cells and even without the use of embryonic stem cells, the good outweighs the bad.

6 Professional Articles

Goidel, Kirby and Matthew Nisbet. "Exploring the Roots of Public Participation in the Controversy Over Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Cloning." Political Behavior 28.2 (2006): 175-192. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


Han, Weidong, Yali Zhao, and Xiaobing Fu. "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: The Dragon Awakens." Bioscience 60.4 (2004). JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.


Huang, Hai-Jun. "Long-Term Culture of Keratinocyte-like Cells Derived from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells." In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology. Animal 44.7 (2008): 193-203. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


Lowry, W. E. "Generation of Human Induced pluripotent Stem Cells From Dermal Fibroblasts." Natural Academy of Sciences 105 (2008). JSTOR. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.


McKay, R. D. "Stem cell biology and neurodegenerative disease." The Royal Society 23 April 2004: 851. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


Meyer, John R. "Human embryonic stem cells and respect for life." Journal of Medical Ethics  26 (2000): 166-170. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.

Professional Articles

1.  McKay, R. D. "Stem cell biology and neurodegenerative disease." The Royal Society 23 April 2004: 851. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


      This article describes researchers trying to find the correct way to control stem cells to create or repair organs. These researchers also defined the stem cells in the Central Nervous System.






2.  Goidel, Kirby and Matthew Nisbet. "Exploring the Roots of Public Participation in the Controversy Over Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Cloning." Political Behavior 28.2 (2006): 175-192. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


     This article explores the roots of public opinion on embryonic stem cell research and cloning. They found the media and church-based influence to be the highest influences on opinions. 






3.  Huang, Hai-Jun. "Long-Term Culture of Keratinocyte-like Cells Derived from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells." In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology. Animal 44.7 (2008): 193-203. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


     This article relates how scientists have found different uses for embryonic stem cells in mice. They also found a genetic lineage that controls these different uses.






4.  Meyer, John R. "Human embryonic stem cells and respect for life." Journal of Medical Ethics  26 (2000): 166-170. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.


     This article is an argument as to why embyronic stem cell research in the U.S. would be a good research tool. It describes all the medical uses and cures that could come from this research and tells of the discoveries made when it was still an allowed practice.

Analysis of popular audience needs

From my analysis of popular information on stem cell research on the web, I think people are most interested in hearing about new discoveries and advances being made with stem cell research. Of course not every little discovery being made is made known to the public but when the discovery of bone marrow transplants to treat cancer was made, people wanted to know about it. If a major discovery is made that can help many ailing people, the public wants to know about it. There are a lot of failed experiements and treatments in the science world and when people hear about them, they can become upset that they were led on and the money was wasted, etc. I believe people need to hear more about the little discoveries being made in stem cell research because those can eventually lead to bigger discoveries. Also, I think that there needs to be more coverage on the research being done with embryonic stem cells in countries like China because it's not really known what solutions they're looking for. People hear they're creating and destroying embryos and get upset but don't always hear about why they're doing it. I think the media tends to report only certain aspects of stories that will get people talking and can mislead people. I know there are science magazines and journals that publish new findings but not everyone has easy access to those stories. I wish news outlets such as CNN would post more scientific stories than they do.

Draft of Genre Analysis for commentary

The three popular websites I found about public opinions on stem cell research had many different views on the subject. One website was for diabetics and although a lot of people suffer from diabetes and embryonic stem cell research could help find a cure and more useful treatments, most people on that site said they were still against embryonic research. As always, there were some people for it because it could be "for a greater good" and help many people who are suffering. The website offered examples and data of how stem cell research could help better diabetes ailments. On another website I found, a few people mentioned it was a religious decision for them to be against embryonic stem cell research and others had no problem with stem cell research in general as long as humans weren't harmed. All three sites included data and facts from news reports as evidence but I don't think all the facts about stem cell research are made known to the public. The media tends to focus on topics that will arouse people and get them talking and that can lead to people being misguided about something. They might only hear one side of it.

The websites had a more casual tone than the professional articles did. The articles had a lot more information and background on their subjects. In one of the articles that was about stem cell research in China, it talked mostly about how China is one of the most liberal countries about using embryos for research. It went into more detail than the websites did and mentioned how other countries don't agree with them doing research on human embryos. The other website I found talked about how research to control stem cells in the body is being done. There are many different uses for stem cells and each use requires a different way to control and manipulate the cells.

Some of the popular misunderstandings about stem cell research have to do with how people hear about stem cell research and how only parts of research are reported to the public. A lot of people think stem cell research is unethical because of some of the research conducted and the uses for stem cells. People think it goes against nature and religion because of how you can alter the human body with stem cells. But not all the uses for stem cells is made known as well as how the research is being done. There are a lot of dead ends in the world of stem cell research and people see that as a waste of time and money. Although there are scientific journals that report many findings in stem cell research, that information isn't easily available to the public. News media outlets report certain "big" findings but, agian, don't tell the whole story.

How professionals view stem cell research

In the first article from JSTOR, "Stem Cell Research in China", most stem cell research there is done in bone marrow transplants and embryonic stem cells. Most countries don't allow for embryonic stem cell research but China is one of the few that do. It's government provides the funds needed for this research and even allows commercial buying and selling of embryos for research. China has the most liberal environment for stem cell research. Many clinical studies in China have shown success in stem cell use for acute heart and liver failure and more advances are being made all the time. 


In the second article from the Electronic Journal Center, "Directing human embryonic stem cell differentiation by non-viral delivery of siRNA in 3D culture", states that human embryonic stem cells have great potential as a resource for regenerative medicine. The article says that in order to achieve this, control of how the stem cells respond to different uses and where the cells are needed is done through using different genetic signals. Not all of the different ways to control stem cells have been discovered yet because there are so many different nucleic acids and genes to manipulate and stem cells react to different combinations. The article explains many ways to control stem cells and research is continuing in this field.






Works Cited 
Liao, Li, and Robert Chunhua Zhao. "Stem Cell Research in China." Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B 5 Mar. 2011: 1107-1112. JSTOR. Web. 23 Oct. 2011.  


Zoldan, Lytton-Jean, Karagiannis, Deiorio-Haggar, Bellan, Langer, and Daniel G. Anderson. "Directing human embryonic stem cell differentiation by non-viral delivery of siRNA in 3D culture." Biomaterials 2011: 7793-7800. Quick Search. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. 

"Person on the street" view of stem cell research

Many people are divided on the use of stem cells. There are two "different" ways to look at stem cell research: using adult stem cells and using embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cell use is no longer allowed or needed because many advances have been made creating stem cells in a lab and using stem cells from adults. People are on both sides of embryonic stem cell use but I think this arguement is the same as the abortion issue. Most people see using embryonic stem cells as killing a baby and are saying it's unethical, against their religion and so on (just like the abortion debate). Other people are saying if you kill a developing embryo, which at the time is "just a ball of cells", in order to find cures for diseases that are ailling many people, you're doing good in the long run. Not many people are against the use of adult stem cells or using stem cells for medical treatment. Bone marrow transplants are made possible by the use of stem cells and have saved many people's lives. A lot of people agree that if the same results can be obtained from adult stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells, or stem cells created in a test tube, there should be no use of embryos in stem cell research.


http://diabetes.about.com/b/2008/01/19/what-do-you-think-about-stem-cell-research.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081113053556AAbFxdp

http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/1/131.full