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Stem-Cell Advances in Rats

Posted by michael on from the healthy-rats,-yay dept.

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."

2 of 13 comments (clear)

  1. Rats could use this as much as anybody. by demo9orgon · · Score: 2, Interesting
    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...

    --
    Every new form of media has it's own Requirimento
  2. Good news...now humans won't have to be harvested by dolphin558 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.