Author: princess272

Research Position Paper- Princss272

Stigmatized Stem Cells

Majority of people would agree, further research of stem cells would be advantageous for the human race as a whole. Potentially hundreds of millions of people could be saved, but this research has been marred by the notion that stem cells must be found within aborted fetuses. Although it has been supported that aborted fetuses contain mass amounts of stem cells, they are found in a plethora of other place s as well. These other places range from umbilical cords to the placenta. Majority of those opposing stem cell research tend to be anti-abortion and religious groups; this clarifies why stem cells hold such a negative stigma. Among the stem cell research protesters, Pope John Paul II would be found. He stated, “A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death”.

The life of a human being starting at the moment of conception contains the rhetoric and main argument for these protesters. This misconception brings them to the conclusion that the killing of a unborn baby would be inhumane. Viewing this topic from this closed off angle makes stem cells appear to be the work of mad scientists, due to the negative stigma. Thinking this way without any form of proof nor evidence would also prove how ill informed they truly are. Fertilized eggs that have been in existence for about one week are considered blastocysts and not human being. Blastocysts are a cluster of cells that have the potential to develop into something greater; nothing more, nothing less.

In order to determine if a fertilized egg should be considered human or not, the term human must be studied more closely. Humans are considered the most intelligent creatures on the planet, and this sets the species apart from the rest of the others on this planet. Religions, such as Christianity, states that God created man in his image and likeness; man also have dominion authority over the land and creatures of this Earth. This testament from God indicates humans are more intellectual than other creatures, and they obtain the mental capacity to lead the animals as they see fit. Scientists claim that humans have more complex nervous systems than any other creature on this Earth; this complex nervous system allows for conscious thought that make human beings dominant to other beings on this planet. Since being a human being has been determined by whether or not a being has this complex nervous system, without it one could not be considered a human. The earliest form of a functioning nervous system found within an embryo was the neural tube. Developing the neural tube after roughly four weeks, the embryo could be considered a human being according to this agreed definition of a human.

Religious groups believe that humans are more intelligent than other creatures on Earth, because God gave each and every person their own soul. The soul becomes part of the individual when they take their first breath. This argument for, the sake of the religious beliefs, should be accepted.With that being said, the Bible also states on multiple occasions that God breathed breath into man. By doing so, man was brought to life. Genesis 2:7 states, ” And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being”. Before God breathed life into man, he was not alive; most would agree that before taking his first breath, man would not be considered alive. Trivial details such as this indicates that a human does not have their soul until birth and taking their first breath. More verses from the Bible stating the similar things could be found at Job 33:4 and Ezekiel 37:5 & 6.

By religious and anti-abortion groups hindering stem cell research and making it taboo, many genius ways of harvesting stem cells have been over looked. Fertilized eggs for the first week or two are considered blastocyts, which are clusters of cells as mentioned above. Before a  blastocyt could develop into a fetus and grow its primitive streak and neural tube, these clusters of cells could be manipulated in order to obtain the desired stem cells. The argument that stem cells are found and harvested from aborted fetuses contains little to no support behind it. Places such as the blood located in the umbilical cords of newborn children contain stem cells that could be harvested to save lives.

One study that could help put the aborted fetuses argument to rest, was researched by a team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. Their study, much like other experiments, have a control group and an experimental group. Both groups contained pregnant mice that had eight celled mouse embryos. These embryos equated to 23 mice being born from each litter. The experimental group had one cell extracted from the eight celled mouse embryo. The new seven celled embryo would eventually develop into 23 mice offspring; likewise, the control group also had 23 mice offspring. The control group had no actual work done to them, of course. They only received placebo procedures to give both of the groups the same experience. As a result, the single celled stem cell from the embryo was cultured; through mitosis, a colony of one hundred stem cells was created. No harm was brought to either of the unborn mice. Upon birth, these mice were watched for irregular behavior and developmental issues; none of which were found. The offspring were even viable and fertile.

Another study that showed how stem cells could be obtained without aborted fetuses was called the Alter Nuclear Transfer, or ANT for short. The study was done by a group of MIT scientists. In this study, human eggs were extracted from the ovaries, and their nuclei were removed. By placing donor skin cell nuclei inside of these cells, the scientists were able to culture new skin cells. The process done in this study was very similar to that of Dolly the sheep. Since Dolly was cloned, this method seems very unethical at first, but the MIT scientists infected the donor skin cell with a virus. The virus actually hindered the action of the Cdx2 gene. This gene is essential for formation of the placenta. Without a being able to form a placenta, the embryo could hardly be considered a “true” embryo at all. This psuedo-embryo could no longer be considered in the running to become a human being. As a result, the desired stem cells are able to be obtained without an aborted fetus being utilized. This does not refute the idea that life starts immediately following inception, but if the scientific theory that a cluster of cells would be a blastocyst and not a human-being was accepted, research such as this could be done more easily and people could be treated using stem cells.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Ethics published what their opinion on using embryos for stem cell research was, back in 2006.  It stated, “If the preimplantation embryo is left or maintained outside the uterus, it cannot develop into a human being”. The key focus for this statement was the phrase “develop into a human being”. This phrase’s significance stemmed from the idea that if something were to developing into something greater, it must be something else to being with. This indicates a metamorphosis or transformation would occur. An example of this would be the Caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly, or a moth. Just because a caterpillar has the capacity to become a butterfly does not mean it will; it could also become a moth. A third option would be the caterpillar never makes it out of the cacoon due to complications.

Many anti-stem cell and anti-abortion groups believe that once an egg has been fertilized, it should receive the exact same rights of that of a human being. This idea has been backed with the notion that fertilized eggs would one day become a human being. This idea should be considered absurd, because once an egg has been fertilized, in no way has it been guaranteed to become a human being. In all processes, there are different steps to obtaining whatever goal was trying to be reached. Just because a process begins, does not mean that ultimately it would finish successfully. An example of this would be a boy who dreamed of making his high school basketball team. One of the first steps was to get the paperwork done for said team; a physical must be obtained, and waivers have to be signed. Once this has been accomplished and turned in, he could now try out for the team. The fact that this first step was completed does not indicate he would be guaranteed a spot on the team when tryouts were finished; he was merely eligible to be tested to see if he could be on the team. The same concept should be applied to a fertilized egg. There are many inhibiting factors that may inhibit the fertilized egg from developing into a human. Just because it has completed the first step, it does not guarantee the process would be completed.

A fertilized egg could fail to develop into a human being due to the zygote failing to finish its travels down the Fallopian tube and into the womb. 1 in 80 pregnancies fall under this category. These forms of mistakes in pregnancies are considered ectopic pregnancies. The most common ectopic pregnancy would be described as being stuck within the Fallopian tube; 80 percent of all ectopic pregnancies are found stuck in the Fallopian tube. Due to not being able to escape the Fallopian tube, the egg begins to develop there. As a result, the egg inevitably dies, and the woman carrying the misplaced egg would need immediate medical attention due to the high possibility of internal bleeding. This barrier alone destroys 1 in every 80 pregnancies.

The second barrier to a zygote developing into a human being would have to be flaws in genetic code of the zygote. These flaws in genetic code are not mutations that could potentially lead to advantageous traits, deformed individuals, nor miscarriage, but rather they are a death sentence to the zygote. During the period known as “preimplantation development” about 50 percent of all fertilized eggs fail due to genetic errors. The “preimplantation development” periods refers to when a fertilized egg attempts to embed itself into the uterine wall. After being fertilized, newly formed zygotes release the hormone trypsin; Trypsin signals the uterine wall to prepare its lining for implantation. This action allows for fertilized eggs to be able to implant themselves into the womb, but zygotes with a genetic code error have altered signals. As a result, different hormones are released during this period, causing no lining to be created in the womb. This makes implantation next to impossible.

If a zygote could overcome the 1 in 80 odds of being stuck in the Fallopian tube and the 50/50 odds of having an error in the DNA, one more barrier exists. This barrier’s the most infamous of the barriers, miscarriage. Miscarriage inhibits from 10 to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies. Miscarriages are caused by many different reasons; they include hormonal problems, immune system responses to the newly formed embryo, infections, preexisting medical conditions in the mother, etc.

People tend to stigmatize the thought of stem cell research, because they are ill informed. By using facts, supporting evidence, and different research, people who oppose stem cell research would have little to no arguments left. There are more places stem cells could be found than aborted fetuses, humans are not human until they obtain their spinal cord, and a fertilized egg does not indicate a human will be formed are all reasons why the arguments held by anti-stem cell research groups should be put to rest. People see this as the work of mad scientists or man attempting to play god, but in reality, it is man attempting to save another man. That idea alone should trump all other notions.

Works Cited

  1. “Two ‘ethical’ Ways to Harvest Stem Cells.” New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
  2. “The Cases For and Against Stem Cell Research.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 09 Aug. 2001. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
  3. “The Bible Tells Us When A Fetus Becomes A Living Being.” The Christian Left Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
  4. Knapp, Julie. “Your Developing Baby, Week by Week.” Parents. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
  5. “What Is an Ectopic Pregnancy? – The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.” The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
  6. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
  7. Conger, Krista. “Earlier, More Accurate Prediction of Embryo Survival Enabled by Research.” News Center. N.p., 03 Oct. 1970. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
  8. Rettner, Rachael. “Fate of a Fertilized Egg: Why Some Embryos Don’t Implant.” Live Science. N.p., 06 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
  9. Caplan, Arthur. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
  10. New Testament, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society, n.d. Print.

Reflective- Princess272

Core Value I. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

In a lot of my work for this class, I used my roommate to help me edit my work, because he is very gifted when it comes to writing papers. He gave me quite a few ideas in order to help develop not only my position paper but all of my papers. When I first started my proposal +5, I originally started with the advantageous uses of stem cells for our society. After consulting with professor Hodges, I decided to use the angle that stem cells can be used without harming or killing humans. The more I researched, the more my argument developed and would eventually come full circle.

Core Value II. My work demonstrates that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.

Within my works, I utilized different articles and complied their information together; the best example of this is shown within the contents of my Causal Rewrite essay. Although this essay only has three main arguments, it utilizes information from four different articles in order to argue my point. Two of the articles compliment each other, so I used them to compliment each other within the section specific to it. One article spoke on how genetic code within a fertilized egg could inhibit the egg from ever developing into a human being; the second went into depth and described how this could occur. The author wrote about how specific hormones are needed to allow the cell to attach to the uterus wall and fertilized eggs with incorrect genetic codes release the wrong hormone. This as a result stops them from ever becoming humans. By synthesizing these two ideas, I was able to relay a better argument than if I just utilized the first.

Core Value III. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

Before starting my first draft of Definition Rewrite, I researched what defines a human from different perspectives. These perspectives came from both secular and biblical perspectives in order to help define what a human is to everyone. Through using vastly different sources, such as scientific articles and the Bible, I was able to come to a consensus that both parties would agree on. Once agreed upon, I was able to attack the idea that a fertilized egg that’s been in existence for a about 4 weeks cannot be considered human by definition. By utilizing these texts and understanding my audience would use the notion that fertilized eggs are humans, I was able to refute this idea completely.

Core Value IV: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

I demonstrated that I could meet the standards and expectations of academic writing by coming up with counter intuitive ways to view different aspects of my research paper. I incorporated vastly different forms of evidence that ranged from biblical support to scientific support. The best examples of these are the essays Definition Rewrite and Rebuttal Rewrite. I came to the conclusion of utilizing such different forms of support, because I could not simply fight fire with fire. My argument before adding in the biblical stand point was very one sided and contained a lot of science, but many of the protesters of stem cells were religious groups that do not believe in science. As a result, I had to figure out a common ground between the two and move forward from there.

Core Value V. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. 

Since my entire paper is a research paper, I did not make any of the studies by no means. I utilized journals, books, and websites a like to argue my point of view. With that being said, I needed to cite all of these sources and utilize them correctly. One example where I could have used a source and made my paper sound more appealing was the Causal Rewrite. I could have used a different statistic that would not have been honest at all, but after consulting it with professor Hodges a little, I was able to put another spin on the actual statistics. As a result it came out much better than I could have imagined. My citations for these different sources can be found in my annotated bibliography.

Causal rewrite-Princess272

Many anti stem cell/ abortion groups believe a fertilized egg should have the rights of a human being. This idea to scientists is ludicrous, but these groups believe a fertilized egg will become a human being, period.  This idea is absurd because, after an egg is fertilized, it is not guaranteed to become a human being.

In all processes there are different steps to obtaining whatever goal was trying to be reached. Just because a process begins, does not mean that ultimately it would finish successfully. An example of this is a boy who dreamed of make his high school basketball team. One of the first steps was to get the paperwork done for said team. A physical must be obtained and waivers have to be signed. Once this is done and turned in, he can now try out for the team. The fact that this first step was completed does not indicate he will be on the team when tryouts are finished; he was merely eligible to be tested to see if he could be on the team. The concept should be applied to a fertilized egg. There are many inhibiting factors that may inhibit the fertilized egg from developing into a human.

Another way a fertilized egg can fail to develop into a human being is failing to make it to the womb and becomes trapped inside of the Fallopian tube. This form of pregnancy is called an ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnacies occur 1 in every 80 pregnancies. The newly fertilized egg is unable to escape the Fallopian tube and begins to attempts to develop. As a result, the egg inevitably dies, and the woman carrying this misplaced egg would need medical attention due to internal bleeding.

The process of a fertilized egg to become a zygote is not guaranteed. During the period known as “preimplantation development” about 50 percent of all fertilized eggs fail due to genetic errors. These errors do not result in deformed individuals nor miscarriage, but rather they just die. These blastocyts would never be able to develop past the point they already have, let alone becoming humans. The “preimplantation development” periods refers to when a fertilized egg attempts to embed itself into the uterine wall. After fertilization, newly formed embryos release a hormone known as trypsin. Trypsin signals the womb to prepare its lining for implantation; this allows for preimplantation development to occur, but fertilized eggs with genetic defects have altered signals. This causes for different hormones to be released. As a result, a stress response occurs in the uterine lining , making implantation next to impossible.

Even if a blastocyt overcomes the 50/50 chances of having an error in the DNA and was able to embed itself into the uterine wall, another barrier lies ahead. Miscarriage inhibits 10 to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies. Miscarriages are caused by many different reasons; they include hormonal problems, immune system responses to the newly formed embryo, infections, preexisting medical conditions in the mother, etc.

A fertilized egg does not mean a human would ultimately be developed over time. The major forces inhibiting the development of these fertilized eggs into human beings are ectopic pregnancies, mistakes in the genetic code, and the possibility of a miscarriage occuring. In all of these cases, the fertilized egg would never become a human being.

 

 

Sources:

  1. Caplan, Arthur. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
  2. Rettner, Rachael. “Fate of a Fertilized Egg: Why Some Embryos Don’t Implant.” Live Science. N.p., 06 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
  3. Conger, Krista. “Earlier, More Accurate Prediction of Embryo Survival Enabled by Research.” News Center. N.p., 03 Oct. 1970. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
  4. “What Is an Ectopic Pregnancy? – The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.” The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

 

bibliography-Princess272

Annotated Bibliography 

1. “Two ‘ethical’ Ways to Harvest Stem Cells.” New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article focuses on two “ethical” ways to obtain stem cells. The two procedures both obtain stem cells without harming any organisms. The first of the two use mice. Stem cells were removed from the embryo and isolated to undergo mitosis and multiply. The remaining cells formed the mice offspring with no complications. The second technique used mice, but it was not already pregnant. By fertilizing an egg outside the womb, they were given the opportunity to block a specific gene with a virus to hinder it from becoming a fetus. As a result, the only thing left of use were stem cells.

How I used it: To refute the idea that stem cells have to come from aborted fetuses, I utilized this article. Since majority of people who oppose stem cell research believe they can only be obtained through a dead fetus, this article is key to the entire argument. First, the article address

2. “The Cases For and Against Stem Cell Research.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 09 Aug. 2001. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article mainly focused on what is and what is not considered a  human, from all different aspects. From many scientists views, a fertilized egg is not nearly a human, but to religious groups and other anti-stem cell activists this is not the case. This helped the reader understand both sides of the argument.

How I used it: Since this article showed both sides of the argument, I used it in order to know which angles should be used to refute the idea of a one or two week old fertilized egg being a human being. After using this article, I was able to use the information found here for other possible ideas to refute the argument before it was even argued.

3. “The Bible Tells Us When A Fetus Becomes A Living Being.” The Christian Left Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Background:  In this article, the religious argument is refuted. The idea that the christian faith states that once an egg is fertilized it is a human, was proven completely false. The article goes on and on about when life actually starts according to the Bible. It uses scriptures from the holy book itself to back the rebuttal.

How I used it: I used this article basically to remove all credibility of this argument from the table. The Bible is considered the word of God himself, so it cannot and should not be misinterpreted. By stating something that is not in the book, but also is contradictory to what it says, diminishes the credibility of the people arguing this case.

4. Knapp, Julie. “Your Developing Baby, Week by Week.” Parents. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article goes week by week explaining the entire process of a baby being created. It explains when the egg is fertilized, when it begins meiosis, and when it can begin to be considered a human, for the most part.

How I used it: This article was a good reference point for showing when a fertilized egg can be considered a human being with rights. The question after using this article is no longer when is it considered a human, but rather what is a human. Around week 4 it spoke about the neural tube ad how it would become the spinal-cord. Since humans are considered superior to other animals due to our complex nervous system and intelligence, without the neural tube forming, it could not be considered a human being. Thus before this point, it is only a zygote with a possibility of becoming a human.

5. “What Is an Ectopic Pregnancy? – The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.” The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

Background: Ectopic pregnancies are pregnancies where the fertilized egg becomes trapped inside of the Fallopian tube. These zygotes are unable to reach the womb and implant themselves where they become stuck. As a result, the egg attempts to grow here and can be detrimental to the mother.

How I used it: I used this article to add to my argument that a fertilized egg should not be considered a human being with human rights. Too many things can go wrong to start placing labels on things that are not guaranteed to become humans.

6. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article refutes the idea that a fertilized egg is going to developed into a human being. It discusses a few different barriers that can inhibit a fertilized egg from further development. These range from errors in genetic code to simply a miscarriage.

How I used it: I used this article in order to argue that fertilized eggs do not always become human beings. There are many barriers to becoming a human and a fertilized egg is far from being a human.

7. Conger, Krista. “Earlier, More Accurate Prediction of Embryo Survival Enabled by Research.” News Center. N.p., 03 Oct. 1970. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Background: In this article, the idea of an embryo dying is explored further than that of the articles above. It speaks of how an egg that has been fertilized can have the genetic code correct, make it to the womb, and still fail to implant. This failure is due to the failure of a test that the uterus gives to the egg. Scientists are not too sure why this occurs, but it occurs very often.

How I used it: I used this article within my essay in order to back the idea that all fertilized eggs are not going to become a human being. In fact, most fertilized eggs fail to make it completely through the developmental phase.

8. Rettner, Rachael. “Fate of a Fertilized Egg: Why Some Embryos Don’t Implant.” Live Science. N.p., 06 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article discussed how a fertilized egg may die various different ways. From failing to have the correct genetic code to undergo development, to implanting itself into another place besides the womb, this article covered many angles of how a fertilized egg can fail. It also discussed how scientists are actually able to predict about 93% of the time if a zygote will develop into a human being or not.

How I used it: I used this article to back the information in my other articles. Within science, if only one source is used to support a notion, it is not very well supported. By finding and utilizing this articles data, I was able to support my support.

9. Caplan, Arthur. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Background: This article explains how a zygote may or may not become a human being. It connects social aspects of this argument with scientific facts in order to support the claim.

How I used it: I used this article in order to point me in the right direction. I actually did not think to use the idea that a zygote may not become a human being for my causal argument until reading this article. I owe this article a lot when it comes to ideas, but not so much information.

10. New Testament, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society, n.d. Print.

Background: The bible is the holy book for the faith Christianity. Many of the arguments from the anti-abortion/ stem cell research groups use the bible to support their argument.

How I used it: Since religious views cannot and should not be marred by scientific evidence, I used the bible to refute the words of the bible. Being an active christian and avid reader of the bible, I know the bible has a few ideas that refute each other. I utilized this flaw in their argument against them. I showed where the bible and science agree and used that as the base to back my argument.

Robust Verbs-Princess 272

A plethora of vancouver residents have an addiction to heroine and use crime to fund their habit. The “free heroin for addicts” program is doing everything they can to stop the addicts. The issue at hand is a large crime rate due to the addicts. Addicts have a hard time getting through there daily lives, and this is very apparent. Daily activities such as jobs, interactions, and relationships are hard to maintain because of the fact that they are using. Heroin users live by the phrase “by any means necessary” when it comes to obtaining their fix, heroine. The types of crimes committed by the heroin addicts are breaking and entering/ stealing. Options for feeding this drug addiction are limitless. This program is plagued with the issue that it won’t help to ween these addicts off using heroin. Government officials are only trying to save the city from rising crime rates that they’re up to. By providing the drug, these addicts will be off the streets, which in turn will prevent them from committing minor street crimes. Also the programs keep the heroin users out of the hospital. The thought that the hospitals have to deal with people that want to use bad drugs or unsanitary needles and find themselves being unable to afford hospital bills and hard to cope without the drug is enevitable. This program gives people free heroin in the cleanest way possible. In turn fix the city but not the addiction that these people face.

Rebuttal Rewrite-Princess272

 

Human stem cell research is plagued with the notion that stem cells can only be found from an unborn or dead fetus. This in fact is untrue. Since majority of the opponents of this research are religious and anti-abortion groups, it makes sense for these groups to attack the idea of stem cells coming from human embryo cells. Pope John Paul II, is among the stem cell protesters; he stated, “A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death”.

The religious and anti-abortion groups use the argument that life starts at the moment of conception and killing an unborn baby is inhumane. Looking at this from this point of view does make anyone question the morality of stem cell research. Thinking this way without facts to support the statement is the most intellectual thing a person or group could do. One week old embryos are considered blastocysts still and not human; blastocysts are a cluster of cells that is all. A cluster of cells is by no means a human being. Majority of scientists do not consider embryos to be a person until at the very least two weeks old when it develops its primitive streak/ first evidence of a nervous system.

One can put the aborted fetuses argument to rest due to  a team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. By extracting one cell from an 8-celled embryo, they were able to use that cell to create more through mitosis.  The 8 celled mouse embryos, now 7 celled embryos, were implanted into a female mouse; the same was done with another mouse, control group, but all 8 celled embryos were left alone. The female was still able to bare the 23 mice to full term the same as the control group from this experiment that had 8 celled mouse embryos. The single cell that was removed and multiplied created 100 stem cells. In this study no mice were harmed, the embryos were safe, and stem cells were still able to be collected without death to the unborn mice. The unborn mice were also viable and fertile offspring indicating no issues occurred during development even with the experiment being done.

Another way stem cells can be obtained without harming an embryo is called “altered nuclear transfer” or ANT for short. In the process known as ANT, the stem cells were extracted from cloned embryos. By extracting human eggs and emptying its nucleus, the group of MIT scientists were able to place donor skin cell nuclei into these cells. This forms something similar to Dolly the sheep that was cloned and produced in the 90’s. Since cloning is considered unethical, this group of scientists infected the donor skin cell with a virus. This virus blocked the action of the Cdx2 gene which is essential for formation of the placenta. Without the placenta, it is unable to be implanted back into the womb. This disqualified the embryo as a “true” embryo making it a “pseudo-embryo”.  As a result, the desired stem cells are able to be obtained without an aborted fetus being utilized. This does not refute the idea that life starts immediately following inception, but if the scientific theory that a cluster of cells is a blastocyte and not a human-being is accepted, research such as this can be done more easily and people can be treated using stem cells.

The American College of Obstericians and Gynecologists Committee on Ethics published what their opinion was on using embryos for stem cell research back in 2006. It stated, “If the preimplantation embryo is left or maintained outside the uterus, it cannot develop into a human being”. The main focus in this statement is the phrase “develop into a human being”. This word’s importance is so great, because in order for something to develop or transform, it must have been something else to being with. This indicates it is not a human being.

 

Sources:

“The Cases For and Against Stem Cell Research.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 09 Aug. 2001. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.

“Two ‘ethical’ Ways to Harvest Stem Cells.” New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

“When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Definition Rewrite- princess 272

The fertilized egg within a woman is looked at by various groups in today’s society differently. Religious groups, among others, believe that from the moment of conception, the fertilized egg should be considered a human with human rights. Those who believe in science for the most part agree that a fertilized egg does not necessarily mean that the zygote should be considered a human yet. To understand which of the two would be correct, the term human must be closely analyzed.

Humans are considered to be different from other species on this planet. Religions such as Christianity, state that God created man in his image and was the ruler over the beasts of the Earth. This simple testament of god would be considered the reason why humans are more intelligent. Science indicates that humans have a more complex nervous system, which in turn allows for the consciousness that makes humans more intelligent. The nervous system is vital to being a human. Without it, humans would be like any other beast on this planet. Both religious groups and scientists believe that what makes humans human lies within the intelligence humans hold. With that being stated, the area where the spinal cord, brain, and backbone would form is not present until about four weeks after conception. This area known as the neural tube. Although the organs nor the spinal column have been developed, around the 4 week period after conception would be about when the zygote could begin to be considered a human being. Before this period, it lacked the vital difference between humans and the rest of the organisms on the planet.

Religious groups believe that the intelligence humans obtain stems from the spirit or soul humans are given from God. Which should be an acceptable statement, but on multiple occasions in the Bible, it states that god breathed breath into mans body and then became alive. These statements could be found in Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4, Ezekiel 37:5 & 6, etc. This indicates that according to the bible life begins upon birth not conception. A human does not receive their soul making them human until they are born and take their first breath. This in itself shows that a fertilized egg could not be considered a human based off the Bible alone. Some form of outside support must be applied.

Before the first four weeks after development of the zygote, the neural tube does not finish taking form. This zygote could not be considered a fetus, because it has not met the eight week mark after conception to have this neural tube completely developed. The word fetus is normally associated with just the word unborn child indicating it applies to a zygote as well. Since zygotes are simply fertilized eggs, they should not be considered a fetus, unborn child, nor a human being.

 

Sources:

  1. Knapp, Julie. “Your Developing Baby, Week by Week.” Parents. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
  2. “The Bible Tells Us When A Fetus Becomes A Living Being.” The Christian Left Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

Rebuttal-Princess272

Thesis: The advantageous stem cells can be found from more things than an aborted fetus.

Human stem cell research is plagued with the notion it can only be found from an unborn or dead fetus. This in fact is untrue. Since majority of the opponents of this research are religious and anti-abortion groups, it makes sense for these groups to attack the idea of stem cells coming from human embryo cells. Pope John Paul II, is among the stem cell protesters; he stated, “A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death”.

The religious and anti-abortion groups use the argument that life starts at the moment of conception and killing an unborn baby is inhumane. Looking at this from this point of view does make stem cell researchers appear to be mad scientists, but this is not reality. One week old embryos are considered blastocysts still and not human. Blastocysts are a cluster of cells that is all. A cluster of cells is not a human yet. Majority of scientists do not consider embryos to be a person until at the very least two weeks old when it develops its primitive streak/ first evidence of a nervous system.

One can put the aborted fetuses argument to rest due to  a team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. By extracting one cell from an 8-celled embryo, they were able to use that cell to create more through mitosis.  The 8 celled mouse embryos, now 7 celled embryos, was implanted into a female mouse; the same was done with another mouse, control group, but all 8 celled embryos were left alone. The female was still able to bare the 23 mice to full term the same as the control group from this experiment that had 8 celled mouse embryos. The single cell that was removed and multiplied created 100 stem cells. In this study no mice were harmed, the embryos were safe, and stem cells were still able to be collected without death to the unborn mice.

Another way stem cells can be obtained without harming an embryo is called “altered nuclear transfer” or ANT for short. In the process known as ANT, the stem cells were extracted from cloned embryos. By extracting human eggs and emptying its nucleus, the group of MIT scientists were able to place donor skin cell nuclei into these cells. This forms something similar to Dolly the sheep that was cloned and produced in the 90’s. Since cloning is considered unethical, this group of scientists infected the donor skin cell with a virus. This virus blocked the action of the Cdx2 gene which is essential for formation of the placenta. Without the placenta, it is unable to be implanted back into the womb. This disqualified the embryo as a “true” embryo making it a “pseudo-embryo”.  As a result, the desired stem cells are able to be obtained without an aborted fetus being utilized.

 

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2001/08/09/cases-for-and-against-stem-cell-research.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8164-two-ethical-ways-to-harvest-stem-cells/

 

Counterintuitive Predictions—Princess272

  1. True / reasonable / Bad
  2. True / reasonable / good
  3. False / unreasonable / bad
  4. False / unreasonable / bad
  5. false / unreasonable / bad
  6. false / unreasonable / bad
  7. false / unreasonable / bad
  8. true / reasonable / good
  9. false / reasonable / bad
  10. false / reasonable / good
  11. false / reasonable / good
  12. True / reasonable / good
  13. False / unreasonable / bad
  14. false / unreasonable / bad
  15. true / reasonable / good
  16. false / reasonable / good
  17. false / unreasonable/ bad
  18. false / reasonable / good
  19. true / reasonable / bad
  20. true/ reasonable / bad
  21. false / reasonable / bad
  22. true / reasonable / good
  23. true / reasonable / bad
  24. true / reasonable / good
  25. true / reasonable / good
  26. true / unreasonable / bad
  27. true / unreasonable / bad
  28. false / reasonable / bad
  29. true / unreasonable / bad
  30. true / unreasonable / good
  31. true / reasonable / good
  32. true / reasonable / good
  33. true / unreasonable / bad
  34. true / reasonable / good
  35. false / reasonable / good
  36. true / reasonable / bad
  37. true / reasonable / bad
  38. false / reasonable / god
  39. true / reasonable / bad
  40. false / unreasonable / bad
  41. false / unreasonable / good
  42.  true / reasonable / bad
  43.  false / reasonable / good
  44. false / reasonable / bad
  45. true / reasonable / bad
  46.  true / unreasonable / bad
  47.  false / reasonable / good
  48.  true / reasonable / bad
  49.  true / unreasonable / bad
  50. false / reasonable / bad

Blind Summary

This article shows signs of being about revealing the issues with doctors successfully diagnosing breast cancer. There are many different ways to make the success of diagnosing breast cancer rate higher, but they are not being utilized by clinics and doctors across the nation. Doctors who misread these mammograms are not being held accountable for misdiagnosing these procedures, which in turn does not make these doctors to improve.