Stem Cells Restore Feeling In Paraplegic 540
Vicissidude writes "According to WorldNetDaily scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient. The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cytotherapy, centered on a woman who had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident. After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded: 'The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after transplantation. On day 25 after transplantation her feet responded to stimulation.'"
Benefit of the doubt (Score:4, Insightful)
However, giving them the benefit of the doubt, it is too bad the field of stem cell research in the US has been badly damaged by policies the current Whitehouse administration have put into place. A good number of scientific teams formerly here in the US have had to leave the country to continue their work and others are having to modify their protocols to use one of the "acceptable" lines of stem cells the Bush administration in their infinite wisdom have seen fit to approve for scientists that want to continue to receive federal funding for their work.
It should be noted that it is not just patients who have been paralyzed that can potentially benefit from this work. Other potential therapies to come out of stem cell work include treatments for heart disease, retinal vision loss disorders, Parkinson's disease, Cystic Fibrosis and many others.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:3, Interesting)
Not that stems cells haven't already accomplished incredible things, mind you. But this whole situation is a bit... odd.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:4, Informative)
There is a picture of her doing just that here [stemcellresearch.org] (sorry it's 3MB PDF file, pic is on page 30).
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:5, Informative)
Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's too bad that the OP doesn't understand that umbilical cord blood stem cells are not embryonic stem cells, but rather adult stem cells. But you and he are obviously blinded by politics because you fail to see that the US government is funding this kind of research very heavily.
(BTW, there are ethics involved in research of all kinds, in engineering, in law, in business, etc. You simply do not agree with the idea that ethics should be a part of stem cell research.)
Re:Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope you don't get modded down here, because it's a good point. I might respect the position of someone who, after much deliberation, believes that embryonic stem cells should be used. However, anyone who thinks that using embryonic stem cells is a no-brainer either doesn't understand the ethical considerations at stake, or simply doesn't believe in ethical considerations at all. Ethics is tricky business, and neither "the ends justify the means" nor "all's well that ends well" are sufficient ethical justifications.
And yes, also the research here was done with umbilical cells, and the US government has absolutely no problem funding research using umbilical cells. The federal government simply put restrictions on the funding of gathering fetal cells, which is a long way from outlawing stem-cell research.
Re:Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
Obviously, I'd benefit from an introductory college course in ethics, but this being Slashdot, I'll ask anyway. Is there a good reference online that describes "Ethics" (capital E) in a fairly general manner, such that the basic axioms like "the ends justify the means" are refuted in a logical and consistent manner? Is there a good book I should be reading on Ethics? Self-study is important to me, and I'd hate to re-hash well known arguments in a debate with someone
Re:Well... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you're really interested (I'll give you the benefit of the doubt despite being modded a troll) I'd tend to recommend Plato or Aristotle. Google for "Nicomachean Ethics" and you'l
Re:Well... (Score:5, Interesting)
OK, I'll play, but only because I'm curious. What is the ethical problem with using embryonic stem cells from fertalized eggs that are being thrown away from a fertility clinic? They are other wise going to be thrown away or disposed of, so why not put them to use?
What I get confused with is how people are against that particular use, yet aren't against the fertility clinic itself, which outside the scope of this argument is throwing away fertalized eggs...aka "murder" to the extremists.
Now granted, there are plenty of other ways to use embryonic stem cells as well, but weve completely killed on good use but claiming all uses are bad.
Re:Well... (Score:4, Insightful)
It's called "doublethink".
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
Today unused embryos are worthless trash, if legal for research they'd be a very valuable commodity. This might give the incentive to overcollect embryos or start paying women to donate embryos only to turn around and sell them.
Re:Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
THAT's the issue. Once it becomes legal to create human beings to kill them the society has legalized ghouls.
That statement also shows the inextricably parallel issue of defining when human life begins. By definition, the choice to end a human life, especially one which has viable potential, is...shall we say...controversial.
Under legal definitions which were decided by U.S. courts, not the U.S. society, human life starts after the baby's head exits the mother. That's an over-simplification, true.
Rhetorical point: When does a baby truly become a person? When does a minor truly become an adult?
Can you see it from the perspective I just described?
--
On a related note, given the huge number of people who want to adopt babies and can't find them as well as the people with fertility challenges, it seems to me a better way to "settle" the "issue" is to avoid it by making those fertilized embryos available to other people.
"No, that embryo will be destroyed (and you can't have it to have a baby of your own.)" is heartbreaking to a lot of people.
I've not been there myself and really don't know what would be involved. This is just an idea that came to me after watching friends struggle to have children.
--
Watch, 5 will get you 10 the bulk of replies to this will be flamefests.
Re:Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
THAT's the issue. Once it becomes legal to create human beings to kill them the society has legalized ghouls.
Of course, you can do the same thing that is done to prevent trade in human organs: make the sale (and purchase) of sperm, ova, and embryos illegal.
Embryos can be donated for medical research, or
Re:Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
Because you can reverse a life sentence if you find someone is wrongly convicted. You can't reverse an execution.
What is the ethical problem with using said prisoners in medical research when they are going be die anyways? They are otherwise going to be executed anyways.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Next question?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
Problem is that they aren't (all) - therefore your whole basis is incorrect. Probability of discovering miscarriage of justice in timeframe of typical life sentence is far from negligible (based on experience to date).
If embryo cells are taken at scheduled destruction date (eg. if can only be kept for limited time by law), probability of any other result is nil.
What is the ethic
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
Non sequitor. The zygote or morula is going to be destroyed at time T, whether the method of destruction is research or the incinerator, whereas you are considering killing now a person who would not otherwise die until some unknown time in the future.
A closer example would be, what is the ethical problem with using the bodies of condemned criminals for research after they
Re:Well... (Score:5, Interesting)
Embryos being disposed of and prisoners who are given life terms being killed early are two very, very different things.
The main argument trumpeted by people against embryonic stem cell research is that embryos are worthy of "being saved," which is to say, they have "moral value." These same people, to be consistent, have to be against forms of very early abortion and even some forms (if not all forms) of contraception.
The basic thing that vexes these people is that they have never studied the potentiality principal. They think the mere fact that an embryo has the potential to become a human being gives it moral value, makes it "worthy of being saved." This is because they know human beings have moral value, and so conflate "a thing with potential to be something of moral value" with "a thing that has moral value." However, this argument is spurious, as I'll try to show.
For one thing, many things have the potential (i.e., have some causal relationship) to the creation of a healthy infant child. As someone else once suggested to me, one such thing is a glance of flirtation toward a fertile young woman. From that glance, there exists the potential for intercourse; from that intercourse, the potential of conception; from that conception, the potential of a human child in the form of an embryo.
If that example seems too cooked up, think about miscarriages. Hundreds of thousands of "babies" die from miscarriages every year. So, since that constitutes an essential mass death of a significant portion of the human "population," shouldn't we be devoting massive scientific research dollars to stopping miscarriages?
The reason both these things seem absurd is because saying that embryos have moral value is completely arbitrary. Harm cannot be done to embryos in the same way harm cannot be done to chairs or rocks. The chair or rock doesn't have a hope, an aspiration, or a direction which is thwarted by the said harm. The rock or chair doesn't care about the said harm. The crux of the matter is, the rock or chair isn't conscious, and that's why they have no moral value.
The only people who might care about the rock or chair's harm is the owner of the said rock or chair. But that is only due to a relational property between the owner and his objects, and hasn't a thing to do with morality. (For example, when considering whether humans have the right to harm other humans, it serves no one to say, "Okay, but what if the person harmed were your mother?" Introducing the familial relationship simply distorts the inherent morality of a thing, since it makes the decision relational, based on other notions such as loyalty to one's family, etc.)
The reason we see harms to dogs or cows as worse than harms to chairs is because we know that dogs or cows can a) experience pain, b) in dying or being severely harmed, be deprived of their right to continue the life they were already living. Chairs experience no pain, conceive of no harm, and have no life of which to be deprived.
One can make an argument for defending the late-term fetus (which may be conscious) from abortion, but preventing the embryo from use in scientific research based on the idea that the embryo is a "human life" is, morally speaking, quite unsound. This is because embryos have no moral value of their own. They are things which may, one day, become things of moral value, but that does not mean they are morally valuable now.
To take to your prisoner example, human beings have moral value even if they are savage criminals sentenced to life imprisonment. This is because they are conscious human beings who still have a right to life within our moral framework. Using them from scientific research sets a moral example that humans, in general, are usable in har
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
so... libraries don't have armchairs?
the mere fact that an embryo has the potential to become a human being
There's your mistake... I think those on the other side of the fence treat an embryo as a human being. Assume this other sider believes in a "soul", and it is this "soul" that is the defining mark of a human being. I really can't see any
Re:Well... (Score:4, Interesting)
Which would be a great argument if you were debating with a rational, scientific person. However, most of the objections come from people who have a religious orientation and some level of belief about association of a "soul" to the embryo (potential child). Miscarriage (many of which happen before the pregnancy is even evident) is a "natural" event and therefore within the realm of God. As in, you might not like it, but it's in God's plan and so it is acceptable. Deliberately creating and harvesting the embryos is not natural and not God endorsed.
(Disclaimer: These are not my beliefs, I am just illustrating that people who are anti stem cell research are not usually coming from a scientific perspective.)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
The simple "embryos have no inherent moral value" is not
Re:Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's because it becomes a moral question. God gave us the intellect to build nuclear weapons as well. God gave man the capacity to viciousness that can lead to the murder of millions. The point is that mankind is supposed to act morally.
The question is simply: is harvesting embryos morally correct by God's law.
Someh
This is not an ethical problem (Score:3, Interesting)
If this premise were correct (i.e. that they think this) then your argument would be fine. But it is not correct. Regardless of any rhetoric they use, their basic belief is not an ethical one, but a religi
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Wha-? I'm blinded by politics? I'll have you know that I'm typically a Bush supporter, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything he says and does. He's not Christ reborn or anything.
I have a mind and makemy own deci
Re:whoops (Score:2)
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Are your ethical reasons are so strong that you are incapable of expressing them in mere words, or do you simply believe that people will be more likely to believe you if you don't state your ethical reasons?
This is just the stupidest thing I've ever been accused of.
You align yourself politically with the anti-Bushies, you take a position held by those generally incapable of understanding the ethical dilemma, you fail to clarify your ethical position, and other people are stupid for d
Re:Well... (Score:2)
Hasn't this been discussed enough on slashdot already? Yes, the current administration has not specifically outlawed the production of adult stem cells. No, this does not mean that there is no effect on adult stem cell research. Given the choice, the modern stem cell researcher would prefer not to be encumbered by arbitrary rules about stem cell production, even if t
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:2)
Seriously. Google stem-cell research and see how many big names out there on both sides of the issue "conveniently" igore that "embryonic" word. It's just too hard for them to pronounce or spell apparently, and when your throbbing masses can't figure out what you're saying, your message just doesn't have the impact it could have.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:2, Insightful)
Facts are cool.
I gotta get me some of these (Score:2)
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:3, Informative)
Mostly because this news is old hat.
Here is an article and a nice pic of the lady from 2004.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200411/kt20041126
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:5, Insightful)
Erm, this is a perfect example of why it is people like you that keep us from moving ahead. You had a knee jerk reaction and did not actually read what I wrote. Specifically, I wrote "for scientists that want to continue to receive federal funding for their work. So, what you fail to understand is how much research is funded by the federal government. If you are unable to acquire NIH funding, that severely limits the type and extent of research that can be accomplished given the current academic infrastructure.
Stem cell research can be funded by state or by private organizations. Also, there is nothing limiting research other types of stem cells.
True, but those funds are very very small compared to the types of funding that the federal government delivers. Also, Universities prefer to receive federal funding because of the indirect costs. In fact, in some situations, it is difficult to maintain a position at a University in biomedical research without federal funding.
If you hate that the Bush Administration puts America in a bad light, why do you aid the cause by spreading misinformation which makes America look far worse than it really is?
I love this country and I have a passion for science. What I want is for us to continue to succeed instead of being hamstrung by political agendas.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:2, Funny)
s/political/religious/
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:4, Informative)
So, that implies directly that I acknowledged the Bush administration has allowed some stem cell research, but at the same time, has limited the kinds of research than can be accomplished. This has absolutely resulted in some scientific teams leaving the country to perform their work elsewhere.
Why has this become an issue? It was not previously an issue as stem cell research has been going in in federally funded laboratories for at least 20 years. It is an issue because it became a political issue that was religiously motivated.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:3, Informative)
This is utterly and factually incorrect. What would be factually correct to say is that Bush was the first president to address the issue of stem cell research specifically. Stem cell research has been going on for years and years before the Bush administration came into power.
Re:Benefit of the doubt (Score:3, Informative)
It seems that science poses a threat an administration such as the current one.
I'd hate to destroy your little fantasy but...
NSF budget:
1998: $3.429 billion (clinton)
1999: $3.672 billion (clinton)
2000: $3.912 billion (clinton)
2001: $4.416 billion (clinton)
2002: $4.789 billion (bush)
2003: $5.344 billion (bush)
2004: $5.577 billion (bush)
2005: $5.473 billion (bush)
Re:Politics as usual (Score:3, Insightful)
USA Constitution and what the government can do (Score:3, Insightful)
how the hell does research designed to limit the threat of life-changing illness or injury not fall under the umbrella of national security?
Can you show me where in the USA Constitution where it says health is the responsibility of the government?
A) having problems with it in terms of federalist principals
Seeing as how federalist principals stand for small government not large government it seems you're the one with problems of uderstanding federalism.
I'd like to see more of MY tax dollars go into
Wow (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow (Score:5, Funny)
It's Eviiiiilll, don't you all see? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh the humanity!
Won't someone think of the children!?
etc.
ahem. Sorry. pre-emptive sarcasm mode, OFF!
Re:It's Eviiiiilll, don't you all see? (Score:5, Funny)
Stem cells work! (Score:3, Funny)
With apologies to Trey Parker & Matt Stone... (Score:2)
"Hu-rrooh..."
Re:With apologies to Trey Parker & Matt Stone. (Score:2)
"I hope there's a hell, and when these reporters get there, that Satan's waiting with cameras & microphones"
I have to know where this quote is from! I've delt with the press and can completely relate to the sentiment.
Re:With apologies to Trey Parker & Matt Stone. (Score:2)
Great book. So-so movie.
The paper's title, abstract, and URL (Score:5, Informative)
A 37-year-old spinal cord-injured female patient, transplanted of multipotent stem cells from human UC blood, with improved sensory perception and mobility, both functionally and morphologically: a case study pp. 368 - 373
K-S Kang, SW Kim, YH Oh, JW Yu, K-Y Kim, HK Park, C-H Song, H Han
DOI: 10.1080/14653240500238160
Abstract:
HLA-matched UC blood-derived multipotent stem cells were directly transplanted into the injured spinal cord site of a 37-year-old female patient suffering from spinal cord injury (SPI). In this case, human cord blood (UCB)-derived multipotent stem cells improved sensory perception and movement in the SPI patient's hips and thighs within 41 days of cell transplantation. CT and MRI results also showed regeneration of the spinal cord at the injured site and some of the cauda equina below it. Therefore, it is suggested that UCB multipotent stem cell transplantation could be a good treatment method for SPI patients.
http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk/(hibl2tibmt1yld
Re:The paper's title, abstract, and URL (Score:2)
Congratulations to the research team that pulled this off, and my heartfelt thanks in case I ever (gods forbid) find myself in need of similar treatment.
We may not end all human suffering in our lifetime, but we're certainly getting there incrementally, in steady steps. Wow.
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Umbilical Cord Stem Cells? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Umbilical Cord Stem Cells? (Score:5, Informative)
Here's the huge misconception about embryonic stem cells: They are not from aborted fetuses.
Embryonic stem cells from from blastocysts (on the order of 50-100 cells) that are derived from in vitro fertilization attempts where the fertilized eggs are to be discarded. It is one of those issues that has been clouded with talk of abortion (usually by opponents ESC research), and thus reasonable discussion is frequently overwhelmed by hysterical chatter that doesn't even relate to the topic.
If you are cool with IVF, then there is little reason to be upset about ESC research. If you aren't cool with ESC research, then it seems illogical to be ok with IVF. Abortion really does not enter into the discussion.
-Ted
Lumbar laminectomy was also done (Score:5, Informative)
The posted article does not mention that the patient also had a Lumbar laminectomy performed.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/ [wesleyjsmith.com] We have to be cautious. One patient does not a treatment make. Also, the authors note that the lamenectomy the patient received might have offered some benefit. But still, this is a wonderful story that offers tremendous hope for paralyzed patients. Typically, it has been extensively ignored in the American media (although it has gotten some foreign press attention). (Can you imagine the headlines if the cells used had been embryonic?)
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/ar ticle545.html [spineuniverse.com]
"The goal of a laminectomy is to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerve by widening the spinal canal. This is done by removing or trimming the lamina (roof) of the vertebrae to create more space for the nerves."
Extremely sceptical (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:2)
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:2)
Absolutely. I can't see the article ,as the Enormous Pharma Company at which I work doesn't have a subscription (which tells you something about the journal), but I would imagine there's a good reason why this isn't in Lancet or JAMA.
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:5, Funny)
In the same way, a kid can grow fast, and the nerves will seem to grow faster suddenly, but actually they are merely stretching out. This is what causes hypertension by the time they reach their early teens.
As the kid gets older, and eventually middle-aged, the nerves grow and catch up with development. In later years, the nerves will have grown so long that singnals will take longer time to reach their destination, causing longer reaction times. On the other hand, there is the benefit from increased wisdom, coming from the ability to hold longer thoughts in the nerves.
As the peron is reaching the endpoint of his life, at around 80 years of age on average, the nerves will have grown immensely, making him a treasure trove of deep thought and information. This can be hard to ascertain though, as the sheer nerve-length means they now have to grow in circles in the limited space of the human body. This means that you will often hear the wisdom of the past, as thoughts that started in one end, reach the other. The cramped conditions also predispose for spontaneous reconnections between nerves, causing apparently random changes of subject. Moreover, the spiralling structure of the nerve system entail a circular nature of the information coming out, meaning you'll have to listen to the same story multiple times.
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:5, Informative)
See http://www.teleemg.com/new/back_and_leg2.htm [teleemg.com] for one reference. (Second question on the page.)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
and you are ? (Score:3)
if you insist on touting your opinion with such authority at least where your experience is from. perhaps post a link to a ligit source one simular to the post. scepticism is not plausible source
Re:Extremely sceptical (Score:3, Informative)
1. peripheral nerves regenerate at the rate of about 1mm per day after an acute injury (assuming no other medical comorbidities that impair healing, inflammation, etc). that's about an inch a month. this article deals with central nervous system repair/regeneration so that information is not applicable.
2. are you arguing that all umbilical stem cells will ultimately return to the bone marrow regardless of which nerve growth factors they are given and irrespective of their site o
Question for bio-geeks (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Question for bio-geeks (Score:4, Interesting)
They've cut mice in half and done this, and while their back half screws around for a bit, it's really not very long until their motion is completely back to normal.
Re:Question for bio-geeks (Score:3, Interesting)
(It amazes me how amazing the brain is at some things but how sucky it is at others, like keeping things in short term memory.)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Question for bio-geeks (Score:3, Informative)
Er, they cut the spinal cord in half. They don't sever the rest of the mouse....
Prediction of postings (Score:4, Funny)
10% General antireligious screeds. Woof! Bark! (modded Flamebait)
9% "Bush only bans funding for embryonic stem cells" Hiss! Grrr! (modded Troll)
0.9999% Thoughtful comments on stem cells. (modded Offtopic)
0.0001% This post. (modded into oblivion)
South Korea (Score:5, Interesting)
BEEP BEEP BEEP Goes the Bullsh*t Detector (Score:2, Interesting)
So yet again, what the hell do the Slashdot "editors" actually do other than randomly his "yes" or "no" without any fact checking?
Re:BEEP BEEP BEEP Goes the Bullsh*t Detector (Score:2)
This story is only showing up on right-wing pseudo-new sites (like WorldNetDaily) so far. Considering that this is about adult stem cells, it's almost certainly more propaganda than science.
Re:Uhhhh... (Score:3, Informative)
Uhhhh.... let's see... WorldNetDaily reports on this supposedly important scientific research that "like most breakthroughs using adult stem cells, this one has been completely ignored by the U.S. mainstream media." Who do they interview about the research? The authors of the paper? No, someone from the (intelligent design proponents) Discovery Institute!
They don't even give the title, author or volume for the journal article. So how do we assess the veracity of this claim that adult stem cells can save p
A little longer and this news would be a year old (Score:5, Informative)
I used it in a paper I wrote last year.
Stereotypical, Generalized Perceptions (Score:2, Offtopic)
US has free trade and China won't open up.
US won't allow stem cell research
China is growing by leaps and bounds in technology.
China opresses their people, America is free.
Then there will be a firestorm of "you're wrong" and "China is going to blow past the US while the US sits and fights wars in Iraq". I do find it interesting however that the US has so many regulations in the medical
That site has been hijacked. (Score:3, Insightful)
Here come the Stem Cell tirades (Score:5, Interesting)
Stem cell research is a boon to medical science. Umbilical stem cells, which in no way hurts anyone (and which only a few outsider whacko groups are against), have proved invaluable to health care research. Embryonic stem cells (the ethical problem) are even more invaluable.
Here is the problem. As an individual, I support the legality of abortion. I don't like the fact that it's necessary at times, and I'd be glad to see it discouraged in any positive way possible. I can respect those who come to the painful realiziation that they simply cannot support a child due to serious personal issues (be it drug abuse, abject poverty, mental illness, etc). And conversely I have absolutely zero respect for those who terminate simply because it wouldn't suit their lifestyle. One is little different from an animal reabsorbing their fetus under stress, and the other is not far from infanticide out of convenience. And while I do not consider an embryo or even a fetus to be a "baby", I don't consider them mere biological byproducts of sex either.
In a limited, controlled, publicly accountable fashion, I can easily accept open stem cell research. Let's not beat around the bush - whatever the origin, you're destroying a human embryo for medical and research gain. When that embryo is the castoff from fertility work (ie spare embryos that had a chance but will never be complete), it's not so bad. But there's just something questionable about creating a human life simply to dismantle it.
I don't consider abortion infanticide unless it's late term (ie the fetus could actually survive with a little medical assistance). It's not an independant being yet, and it's by no means an infant until it can at least breathe without a machine (not counting injury/deformity). But in at least a limited way, once a fertilized ovum undergoes it's first cell division (not at fertilization, as it hasn't become a new entity yet), it has become a new human in every sense that a fetus or a toddler is. To say it's anything less is no different from saying that a baby or a retarded person is less human than you are. I'm not even talking about souls or religion - I have grave doubts about both subjects. To me, it's just the most logical conclusion.
So... while I applaud the wonders we can perform with placental and umbilical stem cells, and would like to see that research continue at full speed, I can more than understand why some people don't like seeing their tax dollars go to embryonic stem cell research. I personally don't care for the idea of creating human organisms, concious or not, simply for the gain of others.
Re:Here come the Stem Cell tirades (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Here come the Stem Cell tirades (Score:4, Interesting)
Way to gloss over a huge distinction. A person deserves our protection; a "human animal" doesn't necessarily. A baby born without a brain is a human animal, and so is a braindead accident victim who will never recover. Neither one is a person, and we shouldn't have any ethical concerns about euthanizing either (as long as we're sure they'll never recover).
But when you allow stem cells to divide and subdivide, each cluster or even individual cell is in itself a biologically viable entity that, given a suitable place to go, would gestate into a human.
As long as that "suitable place to go" is a womb, or an environment carefully set up to mimic a womb, with all the right nutrients. Hell, you could say a single sperm is a biologically viable entity that, given a suitable place to go (an egg), can gestate into a human. That doesn't mean every sperm is sacred.
Links are fine. (Score:4, Informative)
Perhaps you have a rootkit installed.
This thread is unbelievably ironic (Score:4, Interesting)
But No! The whole thing turns into a thread revolving around the technicalities of federal funding of stem cell research. Mainly, why this should be another reason for you to hate George Bush. Which, if you RTFA, this category of research is not affected by the embryonic stem cell funding ban.
This reminds me of the threads where there's some new energy technology breakthrough and the whole thread is spent trying to find a reason why it has to be bad for the environment. If the thread involves anything remotely related to nuclear energy forget about it.
It seems that for some topics there is such a huge amount of misinformation about the subject, especially political hot potatos, that the whole thread has to be spent educating people.
When the thread comes up again, with the same issue, a whole new wave of the uneducated arrives and it starts all over again. This same thing has happed every time stem cells come up, it seems to happen even more on threads where the discovery did not use actual embryonic stem cells.
Re:Miracle Treatment (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Miracle Treatment (Score:2)
40% Flamebait
30% Troll
30% Funny
OK, it's "Funny". "Flamebait" is in the eye of the TrollMod. But how is that a "Troll"? Don't you believe the lord smote that woman because she'd later turn to stem cells to thwart god's will?
Adult stem cells, not embyonic. (Score:2)
Re:What type of stem cells? (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, if only somebody could make it clear what type of stem cells they were! I mean, that's something you think could even get into the story summary!
They're umbilical cord blood stem cells (Score:5, Interesting)
<SNIP>
I have known about this for some time, but because I didn't want to be guilty of the same hyping that is so often engaged in by some therapeutic cloning proponents, I waited until it was published in a peer reviewed journal. Now it has been and the news is HUGE: Korean scientists have used umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal cord injury patient. I have no link, but I do have the report published in Cytotherapy, (2005) Vol 7. No. 4, 368-373.
The patient is a woman who has been paraplegic from an accident for more than 19 years. (Complete paraplegia of the 10th thoracic vertebra.) She had surgery and also an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells. Note the stunning benefits: "The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after transplantation. On day 25 after transplantation her feet responded to stimulation. On post operative day (POD) 7, motor activity was noticed and improved gradually in her lumbar paravertebral and hip muscles. She could maintain an upright position by herself on POD 13. From POD 15 she began to elevate both lower legs about 1 cm, and hip flexor muscle activity gradually improved until POD 41." It goes on from there in very technical language.
The bottom line is this, from the Abtract: Not only did the patient regain feeling, but "41 days after [stem cell] transplantation" testing "also showed regeneration of the spinal cord at the injured cite" and below it. "Therefore, it is suggested that UCB multipotent stem cell transplantation could be a good treatment method for SPI patients." (My emphasis.)
We have to be cautious. One patient does not a treatment make. Also, the authors note that the lamenectomy the patient received might have offered some benefit. But still, this is a wonderful story that offers tremendous hope for paralyzed patients. Typically, it has been extensively ignored in the American media (although it has gotten some foreign press attention). (Can you imagine the headlines if the cells used had been embryonic?)
One last point. This is a patient with a very old injury--making the results even more dramatic.
Onward!
</SNIP>
For those who missed the reference, it's
Cytotherapy, (2005) Vol 7. No. 4, 368-373.
Re:And what did it take.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:And what did it take.... (Score:3, Interesting)
[ The words "cord" and "blood" might be useful clues. ]
As to the taking of cord blood "killing who knows how many babies", well, I'm stumped there, never heard of even one death and can't see how it could happen - care to provide a reference ?
Or perhaps you just don't have the faintest clue about obstetrics ? [ not a good starting point if you want your criticism / anger to be taken even slightly seriously ]
Re:And what did it take.... (Score:2)
Re:For purposes of consistency... (Score:2)
(Unfortunately, this is how all politicians act, doesn't matter the party affiliation)
Re:For purposes of consistency... (Score:3, Informative)
Your statement reminds me of a movie "Head of State" where there was a campaign ad from the opponent stating "Mays Gilliam for Cancer!"
It won't (Score:2, Interesting)
IT doesn't (Score:2)
I think there should be limits on all sorts of government funding. I have no idea on why everyone is suddenly for unlimited government funding of the drug industry.
Re:IT doesn't (Score:2)
Re:Slashdot Hits Rock Bottom RE Goatse (Score:3, Funny)
Unfortunately I was trying to help a friend's family to understand how a news site like slashdot worked at the time. I had a conservative 40ish couple and a 19 year old girl looking on as I clicked this link.
It was very difficult to explain just exactly what happened as the site came up. I haven't been able to sort it all out even to this day.