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Stem-Cell-Like-Cells Made Using Only Blood?
Adair writes "Newscientist.com is reporting that a UK biotech firm, TriStem has developed a technique to 'turn ordinary blood into cells capable of regenerating damaged or diseased tissues.' Their method transforms anyone's white blood cells into 'stem-cell-like-cells' which can then be coaxed into one of a myriad of healthy cells such as heart, nerve, or brain. Having made these claims for years, TriStem has recently provided proof to their claims, which some scientists who witnessed called 'stunning."' They have some more proving to do, but if the initial results pan out, the applications could be fantastic -- and without the stigma of traditional stem-cell research."
There was a guy on Motel William's show yesterday who had been bitten and had a big hole in his abdomen after debriding the killed flesh. He said a frend of his had used white blood cells 'and sumtin' and he healed in 10 days. Anyone know if this is the same process?
The latest Slashdot meme.
So I could like, inject this stuff into my arm and I'd have a super-arm that could like shoot laser beams and pick up mack trucks full of pianos?
I would check to see if these TriStem people have recently returned from Antarctica or a husky was doing the presentation.
If this is true these guys can make insane amounts of money. They patented their technique in 1996 in the UK and in 2000 in the US so we are left with a monopoly. Hopefully they won't exploit it too much.
-- Cheers!
Oh please! Okay, you tell me where you can get aborted fetuses for seventy cents on the dollar? You tell me, Chuck? Yeah, I didn't think so -- you know, I'm just like the fetuses, Chuck. I wasn't born yesterday, either. Uh huh... so are you gonna talk to me, or are we just gonna keep bullshitting each other? Breakin' my balls, Chuck.
...Balls, Gary. Breakin' 'em. Alright, I'll call you back
[[slashdot posts story about stemcells without using aborted baby fetus]]
Yes, hello, is this Captain Bly's Seafood Restaurant? Yeah, hi, I've got a shipment of about thrity-one of the most succulent shrimp from the West Indies. These are killer shrimp, Gary, your customers are gonna love 'em. What kind of price you payin' for shrimp? Oh, Gary, you're breakin' my balls, Gary. How about ten and a quarter?
WTPOUAWYHTTOTWPA
What's the point of using acronyms when you have to type out the whole phrase anyways?
Since we have some people looking into how sea urchins are practically immortal, I'm curious if there will be some way to mix and cross-reference the two veins of research to come up with a longevity treatment...
=Smidge=
If this is true then we very well may be the last generation to have to die.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
I'd have a super-arm
Many of the subscribers already do...
Do you like German cars?
How long before the luddites start screeching about it and demanding that these scientists stop playing God. Sure, they can't use the abortion angle as an excuse, but surely something so "un-natch-er-ull" has to be against the "buy-bull"!
Among other things, it would be interesting to see whether they can actually grow new neuron cells.
Wait until they publish a controlled study in a peer-reviewed journal. Until then, this is all science-by-press-release and not worth the paper on which it's printed.
That said, I hope they're successful and manage to strike a healthy balance between profit and humanity.
-j
That should be "... Interfering With The Will Of God By Meddling ..." above, of course.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
They'll want to make their $ back and a handsome profit on top of it; but you're right - companies are not "fair" about it IMHO. A better system to balance that out needs to be tacked on to patent law.
And in 17 years (depending on your country) that technology will become generic and commoditized. Inventors should be compensated for their labour; however, for the next generation the fruits of it should be ubiquitous.
So look at it this way: in a generation, this technology will be patent-free.
I'm as socialist and altruistic as the next guy, but I think there can be some balance with capitalism. If you defang its cannibalistic tendencies and ensure reasonable labor rights then it's not a bad way to live.
Now, IMHO anyone who uses NIH technology or other tech developed at taxpayer expense then the taxpayer should get an even split. So if Liverium, a drug to reverse cirrhosis in alcoholics, were developed and made $50 billion for Merc then the Treasury would get half in the name of the taxpayer. Just like we should be collecting for mineral rights that mining companies get for virtually nothing (e.g. billions in gold extracted for a $30,000 fee on public land).
What to do with this largesse? Well, everyone has their own opinion and I'll leave that to another debate.
Everybody is Peter North!
Mods, if you understand this joke you're just as twisted as me.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Clearly it's not a trade secret. But if it's patented, they're the only ones who are legally allowed to *use* the technology; all others must license the process from them.
=== "Some people see the glass as half-empty. Others see it as half-full. I see the glass as too big." -G. Carlin.
Probably only a difference of a few bits...
One of those tests which shows which genes of the DNA are being expressed would probably show what the difference is...