What Is It About the Use of Controversial Stem Cells

question 122

Multiple Choice

What is it about the use of controversial stem cells that makes them so potentially important for the treatment of many medical conditions that have eluded effective treatments in the past?

• A) Stem cells always come from embryos, so they are not susceptible to the illnesses associated with childhood or adulthood.
• B) Stem cells have a longer "cellular clock," which means that they can live for much longer than other types of human cells.
• C) Stem cells are less likely than other human cells to be rejected by the body's immune system.
• D) Stem cells have been found to be the single most effective "weapon" in medicine's fight to cure cancer, since they are able to decay tumor cells at a microscopic level.

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Definitions:

Clear and Convincing Proof

Clear and Convincing Proof is a standard of evidence requiring a high level of certainty to establish the truthfulness of a fact in legal proceedings, above a preponderance of evidence but below beyond a reasonable doubt.

Robinson V. California

A landmark court case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to criminalize being addicted to narcotics.

Drug Addiction

A chronic disease characterized by compulsive or uncontrollable drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to it.