The field of stem cells is relatively new and is showing a large amount of potential to treat diseases such as Parkinson's and different types of cancers. They also appear to be useful in repairing vital organs in treating diabetes and repairing a person's immune system after chemotherapy and radiation.

Stem cells can be found in places such as bone marrow, teeth, and heart muscle, and with so much research being done on how to effectively extract, grow, and use these different stem cells, they will provide a practical way to increase the quality of life in patients with diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and leukemia.

However, like most topics in medical biology, there is great controversy surrounding one type of stem cell research: embryonic stem cell research. This type involves the destruction of a human child when it is approximately 5 days old. Some argue that all human life is valuable, and that killing a child for science is morally wrong. Others take the viewpoint that the 5-day-old mass of cells is not yet human, and therefore does not deserve the rights given to other humans (the right to not be killed, for example).