Stem Cells

[blkraven (deleted)]

SO what do people think about stem cell research. I mean is creating embryos for the sole purpose of killing them to get cells right. Frankly i dont think so even if it is for the greater good. What do you all think?

[iswallowedabug (deleted)]

I think creating a life just so you can destroy it is not something
to be taken lightly.

With stem cell research, there's a lot of controversy over some
fairly fundamental questions, such as: what constitutes a human life?

When an adult is dying/has died, but his/her organs are viable, the
individual, or his/her family can decide to donate those organs to
save many other lives that are in danger. I think most people would
agree that if that person weren't dying, none of us has the right
to go in and harvest organs to save others, but that since that person
cannot be saved, the organ donation is a blessing because it saves
the lives of other.

Just so, stem cell research holds a promise (which may or may not
be broken) of saving many lives.

But to get the stem cells, the embryo must die. One question is,
if we posit that a frozen embryo in a fertility clinic is a "human
life" (which many people don't, but which I will posit here for the
sake of discussion), if that embryo is going to be destroyed -- to
die (as often happens because many more embryos are frozen
and stored than are needed, or sometimes couples split up, etc.),
is it okay to use those embryos for research to save others lives?

Creating embryos for the express purpose of destroying them is
another issue,. But if these embryos are not being "adopted" out
and are going to be destroyed anyway, is it morally okay to use them
to allow some good to come out of it?

If the answer is no, then I think maybe our society should re-think
the fact that it allows fertility treatments to create and destroy
so many embryos all the time. But that's another issue.

In some ways, I think it's more wrong to destroy the embryos
without allowing good to come from their loss, than to just
discard them.

[sweetsunrise]

Stem cells hooray!!! The sooner the research gets legalized the better I say.

[alcazar_PREV (deleted)]

`From a purely scientific point of view stem cell research using 'adult' stem cells is the way of the future, showing positive and promising results.

The whole embryo harvesting thing is just for people who like poking at things better left alone, just for the sake of poking. It has yet to lead to anything remotely resembling a cure for any disease.

Personally I think it is absolutely abhorent the UK government has recently allowed to create 'cross-bred' animal-human embryo's ''for research''. There used to be a time when "The Isle of Dr. Moreau" was a horror-story, not an academic goal supported by a so-called civilized state.

[brocktherock]

`I have seen recently that for the regeneration aspect of stem cells you don't need just stem cells. scientists have found a way to regenerated by using just organ tissue with no cells and blood to form an organ to the blood doners DNA sequence. They have to keep the tisue moveing and warm wile the blood is in the tissue, but this could help organ traqnsplants in the future. they use pig organs instead of human organs though.

[slimtheinventor]

`I do a paper on something new about them almost every other year.

[xgothamgurlx (deleted)]

`I am personally for stem cells reacher . However, I think that people need to be careful how to do it.

[slimtheinventor]

The "controversy" is around embryonic stem cells. People forget there are other kinds...

[levitatingfrog (deleted)]

`The reason we feel OK about killing ants but not about killing humans is that humans show more signs of consciousness than ants. You would probably stamp on an ants nest if you had to in order to save a person's life, so why do you object to killing a blastocyst that does not even have a brain?

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent (can differentiate into any cell type), whereas trying to induce pluripotency in adult stem cells is much harder. Also, adult stem cells do not have the capacity for regeneration that embryonic cells have. They may be useful for blindness, juvenile diabetes, parkinson's, spinal injuries and blood and immune related genetic diseases, cancers and disorders. There are other applications where adult cells are more useful because getting embryonic stem cells to differentiate into the right type is hard and they are more likely to turn cancerous.