HORTICULTURE

Detailed explanation-1: -"Stem cell research is one of the most controversial topics of our time period and has raised many religious and ethical questions regarding the research being done.

Detailed explanation-2: -Opponents argue that the research is unethical, because deriving the stem cells destroys the blastocyst, an unimplanted human embryo at the sixth to eighth day of development. As Bush declared when he vetoed last year’s stem cell bill, the federal government should not support “the taking of innocent human life.”

Detailed explanation-3: -But when scientists learned how to remove stem cells from human embryos in 1998, both excitement and controversy ensued. The excitement was due to the huge potential these cells have in curing human disease. The controversy centered on the moral implications of destroying human embryos.

Detailed explanation-4: -Embryonic stem cells-the most controversial type-are taken from a blastocyst, an embryo at an early stage of development and comprising around 120 undifferentiated stem cells. These cells are called “totipotent” because they can differentiate into any cell type, including other totipotent cells.