Slashdot Mirror
Scientists Clone Human Embryos To Make Stem Cells
cyachallenge writes "Scientists say they have, for the first time, cloned human embryos capable of producing embryonic stem cells. 'We had to find the perfect combination,' Mitalipov says. As it turned out, that perfect combination included something surprising: caffeine. That ingredient, plus other tweaks in the process, including using fresh eggs and determining the optimal stage of each egg's development, Mitalipov says."
"using fresh eggs and caffeine"
Sounds more like making breakfast than human cloning.
It is by the juice of java that cells acquire speed
The body begins to grow
The growth becomes a forming.
It is by caffeine alone I set my cells in motion
insect...
I've been watching too much game of thrones.
The Slashdot headline neglected to mention that they synthesised an embryo from adult human skin cells - so it's 100% genetically compatible with the donor.
Was it a "oops" moment when one of the scientist knocked some of his coffee into a sample?
Be seeing you...
So if one has any sort of ethical dilemma with harvesting stem cells from embryos under the notion that such willful destruction of embryos is equivalent to premeditated homicide, this particular technique shouldn't make those people breathe any easier, and in fact, may be cause for them to scream even more outrage at the notion that, to use words they might throw around, "they are creating even more people to deliberately murder".
> My qualm with cloning is that it involves wiping the genetic from the egg (thus destroying that potential individual) and populating it with the desired genetic code.
Your qualm is that the genetic material from an egg is destroyed?
But doesn't this happen every month in a woman who isn't pregnant?
Hamsters are at least as feathery as penguins. HamLix