Embryonic stem cells:
- Cells in an embryo are unspecialized
- They divide to produce the differentiated cells in the body (differentiated = specialised)
Adult stem cells:
- Are found in differentiated tissue, such as bone or skin
- They divide to repair damaged cells
Research using stem cells:
- All stem cells
- Can replace faulty cell with healthy cell
- May produce cancer cells instead of healthy cells
- Embryonic stem cells
- Easy to extract from embryo
- Produce any type of cell
- Embryo destroyed when cell removed – some think embryos have the right to live
- Body recognises the cells as ‘different’ and will reject them without the use of drugs
- Adult stem cells
- No embryo destroyed so no ethical issues
- If taken from the person being treated, it will not be rejected by the body
- Difficult to find and extract
- Only produces a few types of cell