Stem Cell and Designer Babies Essay Example

Introduction

The study on stem cells and designer babies are considered current trends in Biology with much focus on the unique developmental aspects in babies than in adults. Stem cells are non-specialized cells which create more particular cells like blood, brain, and muscles. Designer babies on the hand are the biological technique in which doctors determine the desired features of a child to be borne by transferring a mitochondrion DNA from one woman to another, therefore reducing some of the probable defects. These two topics have been received with significant controversies based on the varied perceptions among different people. It is therefore important to understand them better in terms of their individual pros and cons.

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Stem Cell Research

An advantage of the applications of stem cell research knowledge makes it possible to manipulate the features of the stem cells of the adults with significantly fewer chances of being rejected when they are incorporated in transplants. Joseph (2014) emphasized that the given aspect of biotechnology has been further utilized to prevent the occurrence of many health complications. this has been made possible through transplants from the human embryonic stem cell. It has therefore helped to reduced diseases like spinal cord injury, vision loss, hearing, and heart diseases. Based on this feature, this technique has been proven to have limited side effects when applied.

The stem cell technique, however, has significant cons regarding some of the potential implications of its applications. For instance, there is a considerable risk that the human body may reject embryonic stem cells applied through transplants. This is likely because the process lacks a more specialized strategy which would otherwise generate the associated stem cells. Moreover, there is some level of possibility that this stem cell-based manipulation may cause very serious defects including tumors (Joseph, 2014). It is always a requirement that the source of the stem cells should be obtained from distinguished culture prep. However, many exercises of the same have rather applied to unspecified samples which been a reason behind deadly diseases.

Designer Babies

The designer babies technique also has its pros and cons side regarding the results of its application. One of the advantages of designer babies is its capability to guarantee the health of the resulting babies. They are therefore accommodated within the confines of the moral provisions of both the society and the healthcare perspectives (Khazan, 2014). The health of the babies is mostly one of the concerns with regard to any intervention or interruption to the regular development of the fetus. They are therefore acceptable as they ensure that the babies to be borne are healthy. It, therefore, prevents the passing on of the hereditary degenerative conditions from the parent to the fetus.

In spite of the desirable features of this technology, it is directly associated with serious problems which occasionally deem ineffective for its intended purpose. For instance, it encourages the thought to be selective on the qualities of a child to be borne hence interfering with the conventional way of the birth system. Khazan (2014) noted that women have therefore had the opportunity to dictate the kinds of embryo they need and therefore destroying those that do not appeal to their desires. This is a great threat to the practice of the idea that all form of human life is equal. Consequently, many have ended up having no children after continuous destruction of the embryo with features they do not want.

References

Joseph, L. (2014). Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research. Med Health Daily. Retrieved from https://www.medhealthdaily.com/pros-and-cons-of-stem-cell-research/

Khazan, O. (2014). We're Already Designing Babies. The Atlantic-Health. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/were-already-designing-babies/373896/