Nguyen 1
Ellya Nguyen
Professor Baird
ENG 1010 – Section #093
April 2, 2014
Stem Cell Research:
An enhancement or disadvantage to the world of medicine?
The topic I chose to research about is stem cell research, the reason being because of the
controversy and debate on whether stem cells can enhance medical treatment or create further
issues in patient health care. Stem cells have been argued about for years now because of the
pros and cons that it can create. Stem cells are rising and becoming a big part of our future
because of what the outcome can be. There is a lot of controversy about stem cells and if it can
truly enhance individual’s lives or create further harm.
1. Jabr, Ferris. “A Change of Heart.” Scientific American. 308.4:50-52 (April 2013). Web. 2
April 2014
In his article, “A Change of Heart,” Jabr writes about Mike Jones, the very first person to
receive infusion of his very own stem cells to restore his heart. In early 2009, Jones bought a
newspaper at a convenience store in Louisville, KY and read about a local doctor who wanted to
try something unprecedented. The doctor (Roberto Bolli) wanted to heal an ailing heart by
harvesting and multiplying its native stem cells, in which are immature cells with regenerative
powers to restore the heart. Jones then was sixty-five years old and had heart failure. Jabr
explains how his heart was no longer pumping blood efficiently. Jones contacted doctor Bolli of
the University of Louisville, and in July of that year, Jones became the very first person in the
world to receive an infusion of his own cardiac stem cells. Jones could barely climb stairs before,
Nguyen 2
and today he can nearly do any physic activity including chopping his own firewood. Jabr writes
that since then, hundreds of patients with heart damage have improved after doctors have
injected them with stem cells that have been extracted from their very own heart or bone
marrow. Researchers believe that stem cells turn into new tissue and stimulate other cells to
divide and regenerate. Stem cells are used to replace the cells that were once damaged, for
example, a person who has had a heart attack before can have the damaged cells in the heart
replaced with stem cells.
Ferris Jabr is a writer and science journalist based in New York. Currently, he is an
associate editor at Scientific American magazine. He was previously a reporter for New Scientist.
Jabr’s work has been published in Scientific American MIND Wired UK, Salon, The Awl,
Popular Mechanics, Psychology Today and OnEarth. He has an MA from New York University
in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting and a Bachelors of Science from Tufts
University in psychology and English literature. He has also written several books and articles
that mainly focus on health and science. Jabr’s article is very convincing because he provides a
story of a person’s experience to stem cells and how it had improved their health. Not only does
he talk about Mike Jones, (the first person to receive an infusion of his own cardiac stem cells to
repair his heart) but Jabr also mentions the other successful patients who had received the same
treatment.
After reading Jabr’s article, it made me realize how great stem cells can really improve an
individual’s health. Not only can stem cells repair a heart, stem cells could also be used to treat
other illnesses and damage in other parts of the body. Jabr’s article mainly focuses on the
positive side of stem cells and how they can improve individuals. With anything in science, there
Nguyen 3
are always positive and negative outcomes. But he mainly focuses on the positive which I also
believe may be the greater outcome of stem cell research.
2. Lee, Thomas F. “Stem Cells.” Encyclopedia Americana. Groiler Online, 2014. Web. 2 April
2014.
In this article, Thomas F. Lee writes about stems cells and what they are exactly. Lee
explains to readers that stem cells are primitive animal cells that, lacking specialized traits, build
and maintain tissue through differentiation. He explains how stem cells can transform into
specific cell types such as bone, blood and muscle. Stem cells are an advantage to science and
medicine because they can replace damaged cells in the body. Stem cells could spark the
emergence of a break through raging from a deeper understanding of the sources of cancer and
birth defects, to new treatments or a host of medical conditions and injuries. Lee mentions to
readers that stem cells can find cures for several illnesses in people across the world. However,
some stem cells keep dividing in their undifferentiated state, maintaining ready pools for
unspecialized cells. The rapid development of cells can create tumors and also cancers. An
ongoing debate exists regarding the ethics of destroying human embryos in the course of medical
research. Lee discusses how the government has responded to stem cell research. In 1995, the
U.S. Congress banned federal funding for projects that place human embryos at risk. President
Bill Clinton’s administration developed rules for federal funding of stem cell research, but those
were never implemented. In August, 2001, President George W. Bush approved government
funding of stem cell studies, provided that the research utilizes only cell lines in existence before
the date of his decision. In this way, the government would be funding research on stem cells
that had all ready been harvested from human embryos and not from any that might be destroyed
in the future.
Nguyen 4
Thomas F. Lee is a retired biology professor. He has written several books about health
and disease. Some of his books that he has written are The Human Genome Project, Conquering
Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Latest Breakthroughs and Treatment, and All About LPR: The Silent
Reflux Story. Lee deserves much credibility for writing this article because of his experiences in
teaching and writings. His article is very convincing because of the facts he provides to the
reader. Not only does he state the positives, but he also mentions the negative side as well. Lee
also mentions how stem cells affect the nation politically. He mentions the government as well as
our previous presidents.
In his article “Stem Cells,” Lee talks about the basics of stem cells and how they can
improve individual’s health. He writes about how stem cell research has affected our nation and
how the government has responded to its development. When Lee mentions the government as
well as our previous presidents, it makes readers aware of how important this issue truly is and
how it can affect everyone in the nation. Lee’s article shares the same viewpoints as the previous
article from Ferris Jabr, in which Jabr talks about how stem cells are a positive contribute to our
nation because of stem cells can create.
3.Sangwan, Virender. “Ocular Surface Stem Cell Research.” Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.
62.1:29-40 (January 2014) Web. 2 April 2014
Virender Sangwan writes in this article about how stem cells have affected individuals
and how they have improved modern day medicine. Sangwan writes about the technology that
has been provided by stem cell research and how greatly it has enhanced the way we can heal
patients with certain illnesses that were once thought to be incurable, such as ocular burns, which
were considered incurable until stem cells proved that to be false. Sangwan mentions how stem
cells are known to establish cures for surface diseases and certain dysfunctions in therapeutic
Nguyen 5
approaches. It has only been a quarter of a century (twenty-five years) since the discovery of
adult stem cells in the human body. Sangwan mentions that not only can stem cells cure certain
illnesses; it can also repair cells that have been damaged and harmed in the human body.
Virender Sangwan has credit for writing this article because he completed medical
education from Maharshi Dayanand University, Haryana in 1986 and MS Ophthalmology in
1991. He has worked as a Field Medical Doctor at ORBIS International, New York, immunology
and uveitis service of Harvard Medical School, Boston. Sangwan is also a professor of
Ophthalmology at the University of Rochester, New York. He has received several outstanding
awards for his work and teachings. Sangwan has published several papers in peer-reviewed
journals. He is reviewer of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. Sangwan’s article is very
convincing because of his years of experience in medical school and science. Not only does he
provide great detail in his article, he provides information that convinces the reader.
Reading Sangwan’s article proves the positive points of stem cells and how they are an
advantage in medicine. His beliefs and opinions about stem cells relate to both Thomas F. Lee’s
article, as well as Ferris Jabr’s point of view. All three of these writers note the positive
outcomes of stem cells and how greatly they can advance medicine and cures for diseases.
Sangwan’s article provides similar points as Lee’s and Jabr’s view about stem cells. Each author
has a different role in society and different experiences, but they each have the same viewpoint
about stem cells and how positive they truly are.
4. Svoboda, Elizabeth. “The Essential Guide to Stem Cells.” Popular Science. 274.6:60-66
(January 2009). Web. 2 April 2014.
In Elizabeth Svoboda’s article, “The Essential Guide to Stem Cells,” she explains to the
reader what stem cells exactly are and what they can do to the human body. She explains that
Nguyen 6
stem cells have two different types, embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem
cells are located inside the umbilical cord and collected at birth from new born babies. Collecting
the embryonic stem cells do not harm the baby. Adult stem cells can be found in certain organs
of the human. Svoboda explains how stem cells are cells that can basically turn into any other
type of cell such as, blood marrow, blood cells and hair cells. The stem cells used from the
patient themselves can also be known as “personalized medicine” because of the stem cells used
from their very own. Svoboda mentions how researchers have found stem cells to be one of the
biggest advantages in medicine since antibiotics. Stem cells can be duplicated and used for
transplants in which a certain part of the body needs to be restored and/or replaced for healing. It
almost sounds too good to be true. Not only does Svoboda write about the good in which stem
cells can bring, she also mentions the darker side of stem cells. Svoboda writes about how stem
cells can cause certain tumors and cancers because of the cells that duplicate too rapidly and can
harm the patient.
Elizabeth Svoboda is a writer and editor for several articles. She won the Event Clark/
Seth Payne Award for young science journalist from the National Association of Science
Writers. She has written stories mainly focused on science and health, for example a few of her
stories she has written are: “Scents & Sensibility” (Psychology Today),“The Fuel Cell” (Popular
Science), “The Asteroid Hunters” (Discover), and “The Sun Blotted Out From the Sky” (Salon).
Her article she writes is very convincing because she has studied and written much about
sciences. Svoboda provides the basic knowledge about stem cells, not only mentioning the pros,
but also informing readers about the cons.
Svoboda’s article fairly relates to the previous articles that I researched about. She
provides very clear details and information to the reader, however, she provides more details
Nguyen 7
about the darker side of stem cells that the previous authors did not quite mention as much as she
did. Her article was clearer and general compared to the other writers. I believe that her article
created a greater understanding about stem cells to her readers. Svoboda’s article was one of the
very first articles that I came across and read. I believe she provided such great information and I
was very interested in her writing.
5. Tokar, Erik J. “Arsenic Exposure Transforms Human Epithelia Stem Cells Progenitor Into
Stem Like Phenotype.” Environmental Health Perspectives. 118.1:108-115 (January
2010). Web. 2 April 2014.
In this article, Erik Tokar writes about the dangers of stem cell research. He explains to
readers that when stem cells are infused into the human body, the cells then rapidly duplicate
causing tumors as well as cancers. These cancers and tumors can cause further damage to the
human body instead of giving a cure to the patient. The cells that are damaged are replaced, but
the cells repeatedly grow and cause greater harm. As a scientist, Tokar writes that when hetero
cells are transplanted (which include stem cells), these cells form highly aggressive tumors.
Tokar provides great emphasis on these aggressive tumors that can be created by stem cells and
can also harm individuals as well as lead to death.
Erik Tokar has credibility for writing this article because of his education and training.
He has received a BS in Biology at the University of Michigan, a PhD in Cancer Biology at
Michigan State University and postdoctoral training in Inorganic Carcinogenesis. Tokar’s major
interests in research involve the role of stem cells in inorganic carcinogenesis and the role of
stem cells in the developmental basis of adult diseases, such as cancer. Tokar’s article is very
convincing because of the scientific information that he provides. He has great experience in this
field of research.
Nguyen 8
Tokar’s article has affected the way that I think about stem cell research in various ways.
Unlike the other articles that I researched, he provided more details and emphasis on the
consequences of stem cell research and how they can harm individuals. Tokar gives an opposing
viewpoint on this current issue of stem cell research and does not provide much information
about the positive outcome that stem cells can provide. The other authors provided more pros
about this issue and focused clearly on the greater outcome while Tokar focused on the darker
side of stem cell research. Some of the other articles provided a bit of similar information that
Tokar focused on, for example the article, “The Essential Guide to Stem Cells,” written by
Elizabeth Svoboda. Svoboda writes about both the positive and negative outcomes of stem cells,
she mentions the negative unlike some of the other writers that did not mention the negative at
all.
In conclusion to reading these five articles, I believe that stem cell research can provide
great benefits to modern day medicine and our future. I have learned that stem cells can truly
enhance treatment and cures for individuals with serious illnesses. Most of the articles that I
researched on focused more on the greater outcome of stem cell research. Stem cells causing
tumors and cancers were mentioned, but not represented as much as the positive outcome of stem
cells. Although there are some flaws to stem cell research, I believe that in the future those issues
can be resolved and create an even better treatment to individuals. Technology is on the rise,
medicine is being advanced day by day, and cures for serious illnesses are growing rapidly. Stem
cells could be the future of Medicine.