THIS ACTUALLY STARTED OUT AS A GOOD THREAD BUT SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN'T GET THAT AND STARTED TO SHOW THE PRODUCT OF THEIR BRAINLESS MIND BY WRITING UNNECESSARY STUFF. IF U DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CLONING DON'T REPLY IN THIS THREAD OK . MORONS I THINK THE BEST WAY TO CLONE WOULD BE USING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS. IF WE CAN JUST GROW THEM ARTIFICALLY IN VITRO ..... THAT WOULD JST BE AWESOME HERE IS WHAT I WROTE ABOUT STEM CELLS FOR ONE OF MY CLASS Bhattu Stem cells are primal, undifferentiated cells that can form any cells in the body. Basically there are two types of stem cells; the embryonic stem cell and the adult stem cell. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the blastocyst (future fetus). A four day old zygote contains cells that can later develop into any of the 220 kinds of cells that make up the human body. Adult stem cell is found in all adult human being. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells that reproduce daily to produce certain specialized cells; for example adult skin stem cell give rise to skin cell(1). The embryonic stem cell can be harvested in laboratory and artificially made to produce the different kinds of cells. These cells can then be injected into an injured human to cure for the injury. For example stem cells can be differentiated into heart muscle cells and injected into heart of patient suffering from heart attack(1). The cells repair the injured heart muscle and replace them producing a healthy heart. This experiment has been successfully carried out in lab animals but has yet to be tested in humans. Transplant of embryonic stem cells have enabled animals that suffered spinal-cord injuries to move legs and partially support their body weight (2). Adult stem cells as said earlier are cells that are undifferentiated and are usually dormant. They are activated by disease or tissue injury. Till now the adult tissues reported to contain stem cells include brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscle, skin and liver(3). But these cells only produce specific kind of cells i.e. blood stem cell would only produce blood cells. Blood forming adult stem cell from bone marrow has been used in treatment for as long as 30 years (3). Researchers are still pushing for embryonic stem cells because embryonic stem cells have the potential to develop into any kind of cell whereas adult stem cell only develops into certain specific cells. Also adult stem cells are slow growing so the amount needed for treatment is not sufficiently produced. Whereas embryonic stem cells proliferate readily and vast quantities can be produced. But there is a great debate surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells. The pro-lifers and hardcore Catholics oppose the research because they think it?s killing the embryo. But the stem cells are only taken out from embryos that have been rejected in the fertility clinic and that are bound to be destroyed anyway. President George Bush has allowed for federal grants for research involving the existing embryonic cell lines. But researchers say that is not enough. There is already 60 genetically diverse stem cell line in existence. Even the religious right wings are divided in this issue. Some believe an embryo is a new life and shouldn?t be killed while others say an embryo developed outside of womb in a lab can?t be called a genuine fetus. Me I believe that stem cell research should be undertaken at any cost. It may not cure all the diseases but this is purely a quest for knowledge and I don?t see any point in arguing about the life of the embryo that is going to be thrown away anyway. Better use it in research for betterment of humanity than to throw it away. Reference 1 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2. Cellular Divide, Newsweek July 9 2001 U.S edition 3. Stem Cell Information; official National Institute of Health website at http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics6.asp