Stem cell research is not something I am actually interested in personally. I choose this topic because I thought it would make a much better academic paper then the topics I came up with in class. Although I am not actually interested in this topic it will be beneficial to expand my knowledge on this topic. This topic does not affect my personal values or morals. I felt a topic this I had a very strong opinion on, due to my personal values or morals, would lead to a biased paper in which the opposition would be too narrow. This topic also has no personal relevance to me as I am not doing actual studies on this research nor am I planning to be in need of things that come from this research. This being said; I am not qualified to write about this topic or any topic. I do not believe college freshmen are qualified to write about any topic but instead are writing about a topic in which they use others who are qualified to discuss this topic in their own words. Even by using sources in which the authors are qualified to write about a topic does not make my paper qualified. 


In the past embryonic stem cells were grown in a lab, now though they prefer to use the remains of aborted fetuses. Both these tactics are unsettling and still very controversial in today's society. In many countries around the world laws have been passed to regulate this kind of research. Scientist in America are only allowed to receive "leftover" fetuses from fertility clinics. But now the question still remains of how this research should be funded. President Bush limited this funding back in 2001 which helped lower the destruction of human embryos but it also set back the research, Obama then over turned this in 2009 to expand the research further.

This source is by the Genetic Science Learning Center of the University of Utah, which is recognized both nationally and internationally as a great center that takes very scientific information and "dumbs" it down so that the regular non-scientist population of the world is able to understand its concepts. Being both nationally and international recognized means that this source and anything published in this center very credible. 


This article is based on research of how stem cells can very well be the cure for Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's in a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning it attacks the nervous system causing movement to be difficult. This disease has no known cure, because nerve cells only regenerate about every forty years. Stem cells have the ability to become a type of cell so if they are told to become a certain type of cell, such in this case as nerve cells, there may be a possible treatment for this disease that affects 1% of the entire population. They have already begun doing trial grafts in Parkinson patients and animals, with promising results. 

This is a extremely credible source because it is posted on the site of the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Being a nationally regulated cite that means it is very reliable. 

This peer review journal begins by explaining that stem cells, or cells with stem cell like qualities, can be found in the adult pancreas. They believe these cells may be used as a beta cell replacement therapy to help diabetic patients with type one or two. They then go on to explain that any other form of the stem cells will be able to serve the same purpose as the pancreatic cells. Though at this point in the research they feel that these cells have a big possibility of turning into pancreatic cancer cells or causing tumor signaling cascades. Though they hope with the combination of certain drugs the cells can provide very promising therapeutic strategies.

Gut, the online journal in which this source can be found, is internationally recognized as the leading journal in gastroenterology. It is known for publishing only first class research of all things related to gastroenterology. It is co-owned by the British Society of Gastroenterology and BMJ. This makes this source highly credible and also very reliable as it is very up to date.


This research question is arguable because this topic crosses a lot of moral dilemmas. It is also debated in government on how it should be regulated, who should pay for it, how much should be allocated to the research, and so many more questions. Some of the sources disagree in how the research should be conducted, either adult or embryonic. Also the disagree on how to use the research at times. But they mostly agree that there should be research done involving stem cells and that stem cells hold the future to future cures for diseases without cures at this time.  In the future I may need to zoom in on a specific type of stem cell research. Whether I want to focus on the negatives and positives of only embryonic stem cell research or if I would rather focus on the adult stem cell research. These sources all agree with my thesis but they do make me question if my thesis needs to be more narrow and whether or not this is truly a good research topic due to how broad this may become. 

