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Human Blood Cells Grown
exceed writes: "MSNBC has an interesting article on researchers that have developed the first human blood cells by growing embryonic stem cells in a culture containing mouse tissue which encouraged development of blood cells. The result, they report, was cell colonies that 'appear identical to those produced from human bone marrow cells.' Similar work has been done like this with mice, but this is the first time human blood cells have been developed from embryonic stem cells."
I hope there is at least some study done on whether or not there has been any gene contamination from the mouse cells. There is concern that several of the strains of 'allowed' stem cell lines are already contaminated with mouse DNA and not viable for placement into humans...
Perhaps a Genome project again?
The presidents decision involved federal funding. That means using money taken from law-abiding citizens against their will under the threat of violence if they do not comply. Indeed our history and that of other countries both ancient and modern is full of cases where law abiding citizens who contribute greatly to society through service and other resources (like philanthropic donations) are jailed, gunned down and have their lives and those lives of friends, family and descendents ruined in the name of 'the people'.
The simple logic is this: if an issue is important to people so that we say we 'want it to be funded', then ask yourselves why then must those same "socially conscience" people be forced to fund that issues processes. Perhaps by putting off getting their next hard drive, CD, game, gadget, TV, DVD, beer, etc... we could contribute voluntarily? Also, what kind of a person can say they are kind, giving and open minded when they both force others to bend to their will and then refuse to look at alternatives in the case that their process is not showing favorable results?
As citizens of the US, we have tremendous opportunity to live the lives we choose, which includes supporting the issues we feel strongly about. With freedom comes responsibility and we can choose to practice that freedom and live like humans, or sit back like talking monkeys and let everything be 'taken care of' for us.
History teaches us, at the very least, not be too surprised when the same organization we empower to control our neighbors is inevitable turned on us in its ever increasing goal of control and subjugation. So basically, please remember that the media and the bureaucrats live off of the conflict and spin, but we can choose to make real progress... imagine ACTION being preferred over rhetoric.
BTW, I would advise checking with the BBB and other such groups to insure you reach ethical philanthropic organizations. I just wish this could be extended to include bureaucracies as well.
I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men of old, I seek the things they sought.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
The question I am about to ask may be horribly naive, but I am trying to be serious as this would have weight with me when considering the ethical implications of stem cells.
Is it possible to take stem cells, possibly subject them to some procedure, and then reinsert them into a uterus such that they will function as a new zygote?
Afterall a zygote (fertilized egg) is a type of cell, albeit a rather special one. Typically stem cells are harvested from relatively early in the embryonic development cycle, and hence are not far removed from the zygote. I know the possibility sounds like something out of Brave New World, but if I understand correctly identical twins do something similar. In the formation of identical twins, cells from the original embryo seperate at an early stage but continue developing to form another whole person, or at least that's what I've been told.
Maybe it's a bit much to hope for, but maybe one of Slashdot's readers has enough background in stem cell research to comment on the possiblity I raise.
The real issue here isn't whether one can produce blood in quantities - this is probably never going to be relevant, really. But we are on the brink of discovering how to produce organs on demand, and how to repair brain damages etc. Possibly even from a person's own stem cells - even adults contain stem cells, and apparently some of these are more flexible than previously thought.
The biggest hindrance right now appears to be 'ethical' scruples - this seems very odd to me, considering the total lack of any kind of ethics and moral that is common amongst politicians and religious leaders (yes, I actually said that). How can anyone blame, say, Jehovah's Witnesses for denying their children blood transfusions in this context?
The ethics in this is quite simple to figure out, I think. What is most important: the very real benefits that this research will give us, or the concerns about the 'human life' that is destroyed when they extract stem cells from an already aborted fetus? Hell, each time you wipe your behind you discard more human cells than what we're talking about here.
Our cells will not exchange DNA between themselves, or with cells of other types. Not naturally, anyway.
The concern is that mouse cell lines may be contaminated with viruses that could infect human cell lines. Just like several new strains of flu seem to come out of China every year due to pig/people interactions, this type of contamination could have serious public health implications.
Let's try not to let fact interfere with our speculation here, OK?