Stem Cells Treat Spinal Injuries and Brain Tumors

Neil Halelamien writes "At the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting this past weekend, some very exciting results (from experiments on rats and mice) were discussed regarding the potential for human embryonic stem cells to treat injured spinal cords, brain tumors, and Parkinson's. Besides the possible health benefits, this adds fuel to the discussions leading up to the US election and the US's current attempts to have the UN ban therapeutic cloning worldwide."

Comments

Adult stem cells are useful, so why not use them?

[leonbrooks]

Well, if adult stem cells can cure blindness and retard Parkinson's Disease, why don't we give them a couple more years first before rushing to promote the trade in baby flesh?

This is exactly what will happen when people in poorer countries realise that they can sell a newborn or unborn baby (whom they don't or hardly know, or in some cases don't care about anyway) for more than several year's wages.

And the answer to "why don't we push funds towards adult stem cells which are known to be productive?" is very simple: because some people don't want to. They want a reason, a justification, to excuse the murder of any of those little inconveniences which from time to time pop up.

And really, what's the difference between you and a baby? How about ten minutes before the baby's born? Ten days? Ten weeks? A local hospital is able to save and raise babies more than 20 weeks premature who grow up to be normal adults. The answer is clearly "there is no practical difference". Yet some people are hell-bent on creating one.