Rafael MartinsPaul LonquichCSUN Emerging Issues in Regenerative Medicine13. March 2014Stem cell research and its controversyWhen we talk about stem cell research, our first reaction is to think of a new perspective on life, in which diseases could be treated and cured, lives could be saved, and even the extension of life on earth crosses our minds. . The ability to divide and self-renew makes stem cells hold great promise for the future. Stem cells are the only cells in the human body capable of differentiating or specializing into other cell types. These capabilities drive stem cell research to grow each year, in which researchers are always searching for answers that no other technology could provide. As good as it sounds, there is also some controversy surrounding stem cell research, where for some reasons the dream of treating and curing extends further than we can imagine (Mummery 46 - 47 ). By the 1800s, cells were considered the building blocks of life. and it has also been proposed that cells have the ability to produce other cells. There have been many attempts to fertilize mammalian eggs outside the human body. Later, in the early 1900s, researchers discovered that certain cells had the ability to produce blood cells. In 1968, two brothers with lymphopenic immunodeficiency and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome were treated with the first bone marrow transplant ever performed (bone marrow transplantation). Stem cell research has seen remarkable growth throughout history, and it continues to grow today. In 1978, stem cells were found in human cord blood and the first in vitro stem cell line developed from mice was subsequently made in 1981. During 1995, experiments with a primate arrived at the first result. .... middle of paper ......rrow Transplantation. "Bone Marrow Transplantation. Ed. Stuart M. Greenstein, MD. WebMD LLC, November 14, 2012. Web. March 12, 2014. Mummery, CL Stem Cells: Science Facts and Fiction. 1st ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic, 2011. Print. Murnaghan, Ian "History of Stem Cell Research." Web March 12, 2014. Stöppler, Melissa Conrad, MD, and William C. Shiel Jr., MD “Stem Cell Symptoms, Causes, Treatment – ​​Why There is Controversy Around the Use of Stem Cells.” ?-MedicineNet." MedicineNet. MedicineNet, January 23, 2014. Web. March 12, 2014. Watson, Stephanie and Ph.D. Craig Freudenrich. “How Stem Cells Work.” HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, November 11, 2004. Internet March 12.. 2014.