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Stem Cell Symposium

Posted by Hemos on from the interesting-things-to-watch dept.

Hypharse writes "The newly created Cable Science Network(who literally strives to be C-Span, but for science) has opened with a very informative session on Stem Cells. I have had great hope for this network since stations supposedly for science like the Discovery Channel and PBS have become much more show than substance. If this symposium is an example of their future offerings I would be very happy."

5 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. Political correctness by Pan+T.+Hose · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "I have had great hope for this network since stations supposedly for science like the Discovery Channel and PBS have become much more show than substance."

    Discovery Channel is trying to be politically correct so of course we are not going to see any truly uncensored scientific research results there until we overcome the "moral" outrage of uneducated people who are trying to stop us playing God for purely religious reasons. In my opinion, however, stem cell research is important, because when we are talking about a potential to save literally millions of human beings, I believe that ethics should always take precedence before morality.

    --
    Sincerely,
    Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
    "Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
    1. Re:Political correctness by balaam's+ass · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hi. A couple questions:

      Why is believing that "the killing embryos in order to benefit other people is wrong" necessarily a religious position?

      Even if it were, what's wrong with having "religious reasons", as opposed to no reasons, or reasons of opportunism?

      Finally, if by ethics you mean how our actions affect other people, then you're really just begging the question. It is surely the ethics of killing these young humans that is the center of the debate.

    2. Re:Political correctness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The more basic question is when does life start?

      This is not a correct question, even though I completely agree with your answers. The question is not when does life start because it is quite obvious that embryo is alive. But so is a sperm and ovum even before the fertilisation! Those are living cells, human cells. It doesn't mean anything though, since the skin cells I kill scratching myself are also living cells and are also human cells. The question is when we can call it a person. No one suggests that before the fertilisation. No one also says that after the birth. It must be somewhere between but it is a similar problem to that when a monkey started to be a person, a human being, during the evolution? (Let's forget for a while that most of people who consider a single cell to be a "human baby" usually don't believe in evolution.) The change is slow and fluent. See this comment for an explanation why Christians believe that killing a single cell can be worse than killing (or letting die) an adult person. They believe that it has a soul but because of the original sin it will go straight to hell. This fact is important to understand that in fact what they say is not inconsistent at all. The premise may be questioned (does the sould exist? does the original sin exist? does God exist?) but the following logic is consistent.

    3. Re:Political correctness by balaam's+ass · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the reason people consider them young humans is because they simply ARE. It's not a religious fact, it's just a matter of noting that these are humans in an early stage of development. The debate is over whether humans at this early stage are expendable (for the "good of the rest of society") or not.

      As for your description of the views of "religious people": Maybe you can find someone to advocate the position you describe, but I'm not sure many would identify with it, or even find it necessarily relevant.

  2. I won't support EMBRYONIC stem cell research until by genrader · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am in complete support of adult stem cell research, and it does have great potential. Embryonic stem cell research, though, I cannot support because a embryo is a human being with the same rights as anyone else. Killing one human to save another (Technically /more/ than one human to save another if it doesn't work well the first time) is immoral and stupid.

    I heard somewhere they are very close to being able to create stem cells without actually having conception with a sperm and an egg, if this is true I am in full support of it.

    --
    the Political Inquirer