Cells From Liposuction Function As Stem Cells?

texchanchan writes "Plastic surgeon Peter Fodor MD filtered stem cells out of fat sucked from people's oversized body parts, then cultured them into 'bone, cartilage, skeletal muscle and nerve cells.' At the rate of 10,000 stem cells per cm³ that's a lot of stem cells. Combine that with this and you might be on the road to regeneration. And, you can have your stem cells banked for later disasters after your liposuction."

Comments

Fat as unwanted cells

[Husaria]

The cells that come out of fat are unwanted anyway, so why not just use them. The right really shouldn't have a problem, as long as they don't use it to grow babies for research, otherwise, they'll be howling to the moon, although they probably will anyway..

Re:Fat as unwanted cells

[October_30th]

So, in essence, what Bush says is: "USA does not support this kind of research".

How do you think this will reflect on the funding in general? Do you think the venture capitalists, for instance, will see this as an opportunity? I don't think so. Too much bad publicity. Hence, this incredibly promising field of science will be blacklisted and left without finding.

The Bush cabinet is the most anti-science government in the history of the USA. That's the professional opinion over here in the Europe and the rest of the world. Yeah, cloning and genetic manipulation can be a horrific tool if abused. However, banning it won't prevent the abuse. It will only stop the research that will protect us from the abuse.

The USA is still the scientific capital of the world. You deal with this! Don't disappoint us.

Re:Fat as unwanted cells

[mcg1969]

you just know that's what they're going to say because they are opposed to science in general.

Oh for crying out loud, this is the biggest case of exaggeration I've seen on /. in awhile.

Fundamentalists have never been against medical research. You must be confusing them with that Mary Baker Eddy cult. Their objections to embryonic stem cell research come from the belief that life begins at conception, and nothing more. You may find their position objectionable, but it's consistent and contained.

They are going to trumpet this new reserach into stem cell harvesting as proof that there is no need to use embryos for medical study.

10,000?

[AlaskanUnderachiever]

10,000 per every 100cc is the rate I saw on the article. But even at 100 per cc that's still a lot of stem cells. So even with the total costs you're talking about a nice bank of totally rejection proof stem cells at under 20k. That's almost 1/10 of the price I've seen quoted as a "reasonable estimate" in the last few articles. "attention Kmart shoppers, stem cells kits are now on blue light special!"

Combine this with

[stoolpigeon]

the fact that thin people are 4.8 times more likely to develope ALS and I've got to confess that I'm somewhat glad that I haven't kept any of my new years resolutions.
.

Re:It looks like someone may have found a way

[Boulder Geek]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a man with impeccable pro-life credentials, has actually come around on the stem cell question. Unlike most conservatives, he actually educated himself on the issue.