Scientists Use Stem Cells To Regenerate the External Layer of a Human Heart (indy100.com)

schwit1 quotes a report from Indy100: A team of scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have used adult skin cells to regenerate functional human heart tissue. The study, published in the journal Circulation Research, detailed that the team took adult skin cells, using a technique called messenger RNA to turn them into pluripotent stem cells, before inducing them to become two different types of cardiac cells. Then for two weeks they infused the hearts with a nutrient solution, allowing them to develop under the same circumstances a heart would grow inside a human body. After the two week period, the hearts contained well-structured tissue, which appeared similar to that contained in developing human hearts. When shocked with electricity, they started beating. This represents the closest that medical researchers have come to growing an entire beating human heart.

Comments

Re: How Many Babies Died For Your Stem Cells?

[Anonymous Coward]

None? They're made from skin cells

Re:How Many Babies Died For Your Stem Cells?

[sittingnut]

you seem to be pretty irrational in your response.

GP was wrong to not read carefully and assume, (like lots of people) that all stem cells are embryonic stem cells (which btw are pretty useless scientifically) and this involved latter. sibling reply has already addressed that mistake before you,
but you are wrong to say "please keep religious to yourself" and "please don't vote or put yourself in any position of responsibility as you don't seem qualified".

1/ he did not refer to religion.

2/ one can be anti abortion, and/or anti embryonic stem cell harvesting, without being religious.

3/ he should be free to, and as an active citizen should, express ethical concerns based on ethical rules stemming from religion or any beliefs he has. (btw all moral codes, that extend beyond 1 person at 1 point of time, are beliefs).

4/ everyone operate with limited knowledge and qualifications (that includes you, GP and me), none are not omniscient gods. so no one should be excluded on arbitrary criteria preferred by some. instead rational discussion and debate, backed with verifiable facts, should be criteria on which words and actions should be judged. did you do that?

Re:How Many Babies Died For Your Stem Cells?

[Maritz]

Funny how people like you are more concerned with a ball of cells than an actual human that breathes air. Goes to show, you end up with weird values when you base how you live your life on the rantings of a bunch of bronze age goat herders.