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Stem Cell "Master Gene" Found
nexex writes "From the Washington Post, 'Scientists yesterday said they have discovered a long-sought "master gene" in embryonic stem cells that is largely responsible for giving those cells their unique regenerative and therapeutic potential.' The report summarizes an article in the newest issue of the scientific journal, Cell."
Since they've now apparently isolated this gene, isn't it kind of like having "root" access to stem cells? Hopefully this kills off any remaining debate over cloning/killing babies and paves the way for real, theraputic research.
You are not the customer.
Something you have to wonder is if they are going to patent this
::sigh::
information? I would hope that since this is being done at a
University that won't happen. Although with all the recent patent
craziness, I wouldn't be completely suprised if they granted a patent
on it.
It still concerns and dismays me greatly that there is any discussion
of patenting things like the human genome. As many have said, they
are a discovery rather than an invention. Let's hope this research
follows that philosophy.
Sadly, the fact that stem cells have great potential application to
ease human suffering is seen by many people as a great way to make a
buck. It's even worse that most of this research is funded by our
tax dollars, then we have to turn right back around and pay a high
per item cost to help defray research costs.
Doug Tolton
"The destruction of a value which is, will not bring value to that which isn't." -John Galt
This GOVERNMENT filth is misinformation!
Support BABY HARVESTING. It's the only way for a brighter future! Kill cancer, HARVEST BABIES!
Can anyone familiar with the details say if this will end the need to do research on embryos? This seems to be a controversial aspect of stem cell research and eliminating this need may help win public acceptance.
If they have found the controller for the unlimited reproduction abilities of these cells, then we may be well on the way to curing many of these harmful diseases... True cures for Alzheimers and Parkinsons???
... [because] it's wrong".
maybe even eliminate costly transplants...
Who knows, we could even save Michael J Fox's career... =)
Hopefully the people in charge realise that this is more than an attempt "to transcend embryo research
"Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
What happens if you turn the Master gene on for a normal cell, or off in the stem cell? Does that automatically make the cell grow into a baby? That would be wild!
stuff |
And was posted on May 30 Link follows: Here
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Now I can finally get my foreskin back after 43 years without it!
No, it's just the /. effect taking out a memory-hungry VM. You didn't expect it to hold up, did you?
Sig:Why copyright isn't a fundamental human right
Sorry, even a libertarian (as opposed to anarchist) society will have to deal with the question of who or what is a rights bearing being. Artificial intelligences, embryos, the retarded, catatonic, and other border conditions have to be addressed in any society that's as advanced as we are.
Following a distinguished legal career, a man arrived at the Gates of heaven, accompanied by the Pope, who had the misfortune to expire on the same day.
The Pope was greeted first by St. Peter, who escorted him to his quarters. The room was somewhat shabby and small, similar to that found in a low-grade Motel 6-type establishment.
The lawyer was then taken to his room, which was a palatial suite including a private swimming pool, a garden, and a terrace overlooking the Gates. The attorney was somewhat taken aback, and told St. Peter,
"I'm really quite surprised at these rooms, seeing as how the Pope was given such small accommodations."
St. Peter replied, We have over a hundred Popes here, and we're really very bored with them. We've never had a lawyer.
Religion does not necesarily equal morality. I'd rather not have Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson have a say in what happens to MY genes.
cat * >> sig
Can I exploit this knownledge to turn on women, you think?
I, for one, will welcome our new master gene overlords
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.
There's a cool song about stem cell research by Dream Theater, called "The Great Debate", off "Six Degrees of Turbulance" - I suggest checking it out =)
~Berj
A gene that tells all others what to do should definitely be feminine-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_bloc
That should've been:
"artificial intelligence, embryos, the retarded, the catatonic, the average slashdot poster..."
Oh wait - you were trying to avoid redundancy. My bad.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
"Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
"AYBABTU," then "In Soviet Russia..."
When will the lame jokes end?!?! I only hope this valuable research will lead us towards a way to turn off the "lame-joke" gene.
Matt Fahrenbacher
James Tiberius Kirk: "Spock, the women on your planet are logical. No other planet in the galaxy can make that claim."
Can you give give me one single solid example of a time when religious restraint on scientific research has done more good than harm? (I assure you, history is full of examples of the reverse.) A single one? Apparently when religion and morality are invoked, we're all supposed to stroke our chins and nod wisely and say, "Hmmm, well, of course, science requires religious morality to control its excesses." It's bullshit. If I have to choose between superstition and ignorance and morality-by-authority on the one hand, and a longer, happier, healthier life for myself and the people I love on the other, I know which one to pick.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
;-)
There are 10 kinds of people; those who know ternary, those who don't, and those now hunting for a dictionary.
and you'll see in the beginning of the gene:
...
int main (int argc, char** argv)
{
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
1. Put on some smooth jazz or R&B. Al Green will do nicely.
2. Light some candles and incense. Sandalwood is perfect, especially if you can get some sandalwood massage oil.
3. Compliment the Stem Master Cell heavily, even if you don't believe a word of what you're saying.
4. Offer a deep-fetal-tissue massage.
5. After a nice 20 minute session, rub the Stem Master Cell's buttocks and thighs, hightening their pleasure with small injections of dopamine.
That should do it! Lord knows it works for me.
Naziism, formally called national socialism, was very much not christian which any serious examination of their belief system would bear out. It's an anti-christian libel to view Nazi denial of jewish humanity as different only in degree with christian fury over the christ-killer libel. Christians were angry with jews over what their ancesters did, Nazis believed that inherently the jews were subhuman. And christians, unlike nazis, have doctrines of love and forgiveness that tended to ameliorate anger.
It was the denial of humanity that allowed all those medical experiments to be done as if jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and the other inmates of the death camps were just animals that could be used as means to nazi ends.
As for religious restraint doing more good than harm, how do you determine the good and harm of an experiment that was not run? Medical ethics boards don't tend to trumpet to the public the immoral ideas their staff come up with that they shoot down. As an alternative, I'd look at the history of immoral scientific experiments that could have used a bit more moral supervision. I'd suggest a little more restraint on the part of they doctors who refrained from treating those black syphilis patients with more than a placebo just so they could record 'what would happen' would have been a good thing.
A lot of tumor cells use signaling pathways which are activated normaly only in embryogenesis - turning the cell signaling off is a new promising way to treat cancer without the typical debilitating chemotherapy side-effects. The ability to switch this master stem-cell gene off could be useful in this respect.
I doubt that we will ever figure out - and I suspect that even if we did figure out we couldn't do much about it
>Christians were angry with jews over what their >ancesters did
Allegedly did. One gospel account has the Romans holding Jesus's trial, another account has the Sanhedrin holding the exact same trial.
So one of the gospels violates a commandment and bears false witness.
>And christians, unlike nazis, have doctrines of >love and forgiveness that tended to ameliorate >anger.
Individual Christians may live by such doctrines, but historically and politically pogroms, murder, and severe economic sanctions were commonly used by religiously oriented governments (Christians included) as a form of political control which played on feelings of religious nationalism. The Vatican was openly in support of Hitler, then tried to erase its involvement afterwards. The tremendous support given to Nazism by religious institutions was not an accident.
It seems that the political usefulness of religion is to help individuals to assert their moral superiority over others, and then use that superiority to justify expansion and or exploitation. Christianity may make its followers well disposed towards other Christians, but it has rarely, from what I have seen, increased the acceptance of various 'outsiders' (whoever those happen to be at the time) by Christians. The Quakers were one possible exception. Our modern emphasis on tolerance is more a novelty than the rule.
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
According to: The Gesargenplotzian Gospel
IV. 1. Lo, in 1962 the Great Gesargenplotz came back, and it saw what He had done. And the Great Gesargenplotz was wroth, and it spoke unto Him saying "Why have you done this? Why have you created these creatures just to torment them?" 2. And He answered, saying "I have done so because it amuses me, Great Gesargenplotz. Of what matter is their pain and disappointment? They are not gods as you and I, they exist only for my amusement." 3. The Great Gesargenplotz, hearing His answer, knew that His heart was hard. The Great Gesargenplotz repented it that it had made Him. 4. The Great Gesargenplotz ate Him and He was no more.
After being eaten by His creator, I think His patent lapsed.
Charles K. Clarkson
Many people truly want to help. Unfortunately, many people truly suck at it.
Dodging the godwin's law sidetrack...
Science is not merely the realm for scientists to ask questions, they're merely the ones determined, talented, or able enough to put action to them. Everyone else in a society is also allowed to ask questions that the scientists can try to answer and that they must answer to. That society includes the "religious/moral types".
It might have been prudent to cite one or two examples "of the reverse", when you asked for one of religious restraint in action for good. Nevertheless, I have none for either side. Rather, I say that I've found that history and especially the idle historian better remember the fantastically bad events than the quietly good ones. I myself am also an idle historian.
And morality... do you scoff at all moral guidence in science or merely that from religion? Especially if it is the former, I hope you are neither a doctor mucking about with my insides nor a scientist mucking about with the Universe. Moral guidence, whether direct by personal belief, or indirect by considering the questions they raise, is what keeps us from destroying ourselves personally, publically, and scientifically.
*honken quip about karma going up or down*
This is my sig. It's prescription, I swear. I need it for reading things... on the other side of things