Recently, just within this past month, scientists have discovered and demonstrated methods by which they may turn somatic cells of one type into another type. The two most recent discoveries demonstrate their ability to change skin cells into heart cells and blood cells. This provides a new, unforeseen alternative for stem cell research that has many of those who oppose embryonic stem cell research relieved. How reliable is this new alternative in comparison to the , though? If one completely takes the ethical argument out of the equation, the benefits from the use of embryonic stem cells grossly outweigh the benefits from the use of respecialized somatic stem cells. Even though it is difficult for these stem cells to form tumors of randomly specialized tissue within an organism, it is important to note that it is unknown how many of the hundreds of different types of somatic cells into which these respecialized cells can change and how reliable or efficient this method is. The human race deserves our work to begin now on finding new cures for diseases and conditions, and embryonic stem cell research is still the most reliable and scientifically founded discipline within the stem cell venture. Furthermore, actually, embryonic stem cell research as it exists today is still ethically sound! Embryos today are only harvested from sites at which they would normally be discarded anyway. It would be very difficult to find an ethical argument that states that the human use of those embryos for research to save other humans' lives is not "better" than their disposal. Embryonic stem cell research, even in the light of new developments, still emerges as the best option for stem cell research at this moment.
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Sources:
http://www.lifenews.com/2007/11/20/bio-2270/
http://www.lifenews.com/2010/11/29/bio-3220/
Although I agree with you in some aspect (and I’m sure there is plenty of scientific evidence to support the fact that using embryonic stem cells is much more efficient and reliable) we can’t simply wipe out all ethical concerns of this practice. It seems, to me at least, that the best of both worlds would be to put more research efforts into adult cells instead of embryonic stem cells thereby eliminating most (if not all) ethical concerns regarding the harming of the potential for human life and other arguments of this nature. While surely adult stem cells are currently not as reliable, that is not to say in the near future they can be seen as almost as beneficial, if not more so. The recent advancements is re specializing somatic stem cells you mentioned in your article provides hope that in the future these methods can be further developed and work more efficiently. Embryonic stem cell research may perhaps be the best option for stem cell research at this moment, but it is not the most ethically sound option. Though perhaps not currently the most efficient and reliable scientific method, re specializing adult stem cells seems to be more ethically sensible, which I believe makes this a greater option than solely embryonic stem cell research.
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