Stem-Cell Advances in Rats

randomErr writes "NY Times wrote that two teams of scientists on Thursday announced they had made important strides towards coaxing stem cells -- the raw material for the "miracle" transplants of the future -- into growing into fresh, healthy tissue."

Comments

spine-tingling

[Sir Elton John]

I have to say, this is shocking but wonderful. It won't be long before we have the ability to grow and harvest our own soldiers in a laboratory. It sounds gruesome, but with the world in the state in which it is, I fear we have more wars yet to fight, before we can live in peace again. And any technology that prevents the senseless deaths of our world's sons should be supported, despite any moral qualms regarding the technology itself.

There is far, far too much hurt in the world today to hesitate for a minute over these concerns, perplexing though they may be.

Re:spine-tingling

[BigBir3d]

Or, we could let all the stupid "warriors" fight for as long as they please, killing each other off. The rate of young people enlisting is dropping off, worldwide. Now that the after-effects are realized, young men/women just don't want to do it anymore.

Eventually we will figure out, as a whole planet, that fighting to the death about what happens to you after you die is a little silly.

Re:spine-tingling

[Valdrax]

I have to say, this is shocking but wonderful. It won't be long before we have the ability to grow and harvest our own soldiers in a laboratory. ... And any technology that prevents the senseless deaths of our world's sons should be supported, despite any moral qualms regarding the technology itself.

As opposed to, of course, the human slaves we would be creating purely to send off to their deaths. What an ethical solution.

I call troll.

Re:spine-tingling

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to say, this is shocking but wonderful. It won't be long before we have the ability to grow and harvest our own soldiers in a laboratory.... I fear we have more wars yet to fight, before we can live in peace again. And any technology that prevents the senseless deaths of our world's sons should be supported, despite any moral qualms regarding the technology itself.

There is far, far too much hurt in the world today to hesitate for a minute over these concerns, perplexing though they may be.

This poster can write beautifully. I wish he had used his talent to say something with a little more thought behind it. Growing a person to term in a lab doesn't make them less human, any more than being fertilized in vitro makes them less human. The kid would still be somebody's son. And, at present, there's no possibility of growing someone to adulthood in a vat (presumably pre-programming their brain with language, kinesthesia, social skills...). At present, even if you managed to produce a cohort of cloned babies destined for military life, they'd still have to be raised and trained just like anybody else.

The only thing shocking here is the use of first-class writing skills on an infeasible idea which has little or nothing to do with the NY Times article.

Re:spine-tingling

[Anonymous Coward]

Or, we could let all the stupid "warriors" fight for as long as they please, killing each other off.

The trouble is, the warriors don't restrict themselves to killing only other warriors. They keep blowing up people who otherwise wouldn't care one way or the other.

Rats could use this as much as anybody.

[demo9orgon]

Here's a list of things that keep me from having several rats for pets:

• My unsympathetic wifette
• my evil kids
• homicidal housecat
• Mycoplasm/medical complications/high turn-over rate

Rats are very cool, highly intelligent, and sociable with a well documented lifecycle. Probably more sane than the cat that literally "moved in" and has been teaching my kids how not to handle him (scratches, scratches all over them--ahahahah! They deserve each and every scar.)

It would be a real boon to pet rats if veterinary science would recieve the fruits of stem-cell research before it ever goes to all these whiny human types with social-darwinism and images of vat-grown juggernauts busting out of their fearful minds. The genie is out of the bottle, so get past the clone-armies, and rich cloning themselves. If it can happen, chances are it's being done right now. The world won't go away. Really really.

Remember, it wasn't the rats, it was the fleas...

Just in time...

[Zelet]

I was affraid all of the rats in need of transplants would die...

Good news...now humans won't have to be harvested

[dolphin558]

I welcome this news because it can alleviate the pressure(and momentum) to engage in widespread stem cell harvesting from humans which invariably calls for the growing of zygotes and embryonic humans to produce this "stuff". Since pigs have even more similarities with humans I recommend using them as well.

Brain.

[Anonymous Coward]

The dream is to take these cells, culture them in a lab dish, then harvest them and transplant them into the body, to become replacement tissue for liver, brain , bone, skin or nerve cells...

Little John: "Daaad! Willy got brain expansion as a Christmas present, and now he's lot smarter than me!"
Big John (Dad): "I know Little John, but we have no money for such conveniences."

Actually it is, just not in the US

[Anonymous Coward]

The stars go on vacations to the Dominican Republic for their stem-cell inject treatments.

-- Ender, Duke_of_URL

So, what is a stem cell?

[spaten-optimator]

From the literature as I've read it, here's what I've gathered. It might be interesting to some of you.

As far as I know, the majority of multi-cellular organisms have their many cells grouped into rough categories we've dubbed "organs." These include the heart, the stomach, the skin, and the liver. Add to these a number of other cells - hair cells, fingernail cells, earwax-producing cells (the list goes on and on).

Each of these cells is capable (if at all) of only producing more cells like itself - the DNA has been "turned off". They still contain the entire DNA structure - but will never replicate to anything new.

What is amazing is that all these variagated cells are branched from a single cell - the one that is half mom and half dad. The little cell that split in two, then again, and up the exponential curve into the gooey mass that is each of us.

That single cell (and some of its first offsprings) are what we could call "stem" cells - those cells in which the DNA is still all active - those cells which, if incubated properly, could produce a whole being.

Now, if I wanted to grow MY OWN clone, I would have to find one of these "stem cells" in myself somewhere. (Not such an easy task - I can't seem to find my car keys.) I think that's what all the research is about.

If anyone knows more, or sees problems with this stuff, please reply to it - I want to know more!

Re:So, what is a stem cell?

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't about cloning. It's about finding stem cells, and using them to regenerate tissues.

Tissue regeneration is something that doesn't happen with most animals anymore. Star fish can do it naturally.

The beautiful thing about this tech is that eventually, people with damaged hearts, livers, even skin, will be able to have it regrown for them without waiting for a donar.

Ultimately, I see doctors being able to initiate regrowth of damaged organs right in your body. Heart damaged from years of second-hand smoke or other disease? Go to the doc's for a stem cell kicker. It automagically gets your body to generate stem cells near your heart. Those then start replacing damaged heart cells.

You may have to go back in for a few visits to make sure it worked, and it isn't continuing to make more once you are fully healed.