Citation #1
Esposito, Lisa. “Stem Cells: the Basics.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 16 May 2018, 4:31 p.m., health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2018-05-16/stem-cells-the-basics.
In 2018, Lisa Esposito, a staff writer for the website U.S. News & World Report, wrote an article about stem cells and their potential applications. In the article it explained that stem cells were “unspecialized cells” that could change into “specialized cells” such as muscle, skin or bone. It then details the two different categories of stem cells: pluripotent, which comes from early embryos, and adult stem cells, which exists in adult tissues but in small quantities. It further expands on stem cells by describing it was obtained. She writes about their future uses in treating diseases such as various heart diseases or potentially fixing permanent injuries such as a broken spine. She then ends the article with ways in which the research into stem cells is expanding and developing as well as a small warning for those who are considering approaching a stem cell clinic.
This article is written by a staff writer from the website U.S. News & World Report, which is a legitimate and credible source of information. It reports a wide variety of news such as politics, health, technology and much more. It is most recognized for its education information, especially college rankings. Not only is the website credible but so is the author of the article. Lisa Esposito is a very proven writer as she has edited many health articles and has been editing for U.S. News & World Report since 2014.
In addition, she has also covered information for the U.S. Department of Health and the Pentagon and won a Media Orthopaedic Excellence Reporting Award. On top of all those, she also has a masters degree in Journalism from Georgetown University. The article itself isn’t too old being only 2 years ago so the research and information within the article should still be relevant today. It gives me much needed information on stem cell research as well as additional information that I wasn’t looking for. Overall, these factors contribute to the article being a credible and reliable source.
Citation#2
Patel, P. ‘A Natural Stem Cell Therapy? How Novel Findings and Biotechnology Clarify the Ethics of Stem Cell Research.’ Journal of Medical Ethics, vol. 32, no. 4, 2006, pp. 235. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1781057095?accountid=51599, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jme.2005.012096.
In 2006, Patel wrote an article on the research and development of stem cells as well as the ethical issues present with it. He begins off the article with what stem cells are capable of doing such as replacing diseased cells and repopulating the area with new healthy cells. He uses this to then explain that a stem cell is a cell that can become any other cells in the body. This then further leads to the explanation of the two types of stem cells: embryonic and adult. However, the article is mostly centered around the ethics of stem cells as it constitutes almost the entirety of the rest of the article. He brings up the issue that derives from the embryonic stem cells. In his article he stated that in order to obtain these types of stem cells you must have an egg from a female fertilized and then cultured for 8 days to develop the embryo. The healthy embryos are then implanted back into the mother to continue developing while those that aren’t are frozen for future use such as that of extracting stem cells.
He talks about the process being very “unnatural” as almost all species depend on proper reproduction for survival and the entire process is artificial and can cause the implanted embryo to not develop properly. Later, he points out that technology can determine whether or not an embryo is capable of developing properly and living. Right afterwards, he talks about those who believe that life begins as soon as the embryo is fertilized and therefore all the embryos are sacred and equal in value even if the possibility of them developing properly to birth is low. He then weighs the ethics as he talks about the scientific advantages that the research can bring, the lives it can save and its use of only embryos that are proven to be unhealthy or unsuccessful in development. He weighs these against that argument the embryos are scared and that using them in these matters is disrespectful and that all embryos deserve and chance to be developed.
This article is found on the ProQuest database which is a website with a large amount of information and articles. For a fee, people such as those of researchers and librarians can use it to find necessary data. With its partnership with certain content providers it is able to provide vast amounts of information from old archives to new scientific breakthroughs. On top of those previously mentioned, you can also choose the option to search for an article that has been peer-reviewed adding more insurance that the articles are legit and authentic. The author himself also references other prominent peoples’ works in his article to strengthen his.
For example, he referenced Ann Kiessling, a researcher working at Harvard and Director of the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, to explain how an embryo develops and the circumstances revolving around proper development. The article itself has substantial amounts of research in it as it has 24 other articles being referenced and used as some sort of information, evidence or data. Overall, the article is very well written and cohesive without any grammatical errors and so therefore seems to me as a proper source of information regarding stem cell research and ethics.
