The Evangelization Station |
Pray for Pope Francis Scroll down for topics
Apostolic Fathers of the Church Biographies & Writings of Notable Catholics Catholic News Commentary by Michael Voris, S.T.B.
(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell) Links to Churches and Religions Links to Newspapers, Radio and Television Links to specialized Catholic News services General Instruction of the Roman Missal **** **** **** **** Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
Visits to this site |
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Stem cells are the building blocks of human tissues. The Church teaches that the intentional destruction of human embryos, which is necessary for embryonic stem cell research, is gravely immoral (cf. Catechism, no. 2274-75). Stem cells have two characteristics that make them stem cells. First, they can reproduce without becoming differentiated (specialized). Examples of differentiated cells are nerve, muscle, and blood cells. Second, stem cells can produce other cells, called progenitor cells, which can eventually spawn highly differentiated cells. In other words, a stem cell can produce a cell that can become the “ancestor” of a lineage of cells that produce muscle or blood cells. The progenitor cells and the lineages of cells they produce are together called stem cell lines. © Evangelization Station, 2010 |
|
|