Stem Cells Cure Paralyzed Rats

An anonymous reader writes "According to an article on Forbes as well as other sources, 'Scientists have used [embryonic] stem cells and a soup of nerve-friendly chemicals to not just bridge a damaged spinal cord but actually regrow the circuitry needed to move a muscle, helping partially paralyzed rats walk.'"

Comments

Re:Lol, I read that as...

[WillerZ]

You sir, are an idiot.

Re:This is what we're talking about

[hasbeard]

These are all questions of ownership, not morality. Arbitration of ownership disputes are something that the government very much does have a monopoly on.

So you don't believe stealing is a matter of morality? Then why does the government regulate ownership? Because people have realized that stealing is morally wrong and unacceptable. People have a moral right to retain their property without interference.

But, for the sake of discussion, let's say it is a matter of ownership. The government regulates ownership, humans own their own lives, the unborn are human, therefore the government regulates, supports, and protects their right to life.

Re:This is amazing

[argStyopa]

..."This is an important first step, but it really is a first step, a proof of principle that ... you can rewire part of the nervous system," said Dr. Douglas Kerr, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University who led the work being published Monday in the journal Annals of Neurology

Would that be stem cell research...going on at an AMERICAN university? OH MY GOD - WHERE ARE THE BLACK HELICOPTERS? WHERE ARE THE BUSH-CHENEY-ROVENAZI STORMTROOPERS TO STOP THIS EVIL?

Oh wait, the president only said that federal funding wouldn't be available, he didn't actually ban anything (except human cloning), now did he? In fact, there aren't really a 'raft of restrictions' at all, just a short list of stem cell lines for which federal funding is available, and not for any others.

If this is the universal panacea that it's being touted to be, then there should be no difficulty finding state, local, or private funding sources. You just can't feed out of the FEDERAL money-trough on this one.

Given that roughly half the country has moral qualms about this, and in fact a majority voted for a president whose Christian ethic was prominent in his campaign, the holdback on funding makes perfect sense.

(Granted, the OTHER half of the country has achieved a level of moral certainty (or at least self-justification) that they are both able sleep peacefully AND sneer contemptuously at the other half of the country for being stupid Christian hicks...some of us aren't quite so conceited as to self-declare omniscience in this matter.)

Stem Cells Cure Paralyzed Rats...

[dr_turgeon]

Democratic Party Rejoices

Maybe we have a fighting chance!