The W
June 7, 2009 - birthdaybritney.jpg
Views: 179004883
Main | FAQ | Search: Y! / G | Calendar | Color chart | Log in for more!
28.3.24 0854
The W - Current Events & Politics - Great news on the Stem Cell front
This thread has 8 referrals leading to it
Register and log in to post!
Thread rated: 5.97
Pages: 1
(881 newer) Next thread | Previous thread
User
Post (7 total)
Guru Zim
SQL Dejection
Administrator








Since: 9.12.01
From: Bay City, OR

Since last post: 8 days
Last activity: 18 hours
ICQ:  
#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.81
Lots of bad news on the stem cell front recently - specifically the near confirmation that the Federally funded lines of embryonic stem cells are contaminated with mouse cells to the point of not being useful (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6604).

Still, good news is coming out. Researches have created motor nuerons out of embryonic stem cells.

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2005-01-31-3


    The work is a step towards using embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons to treat such conditions as spinal cord injuries and nervous system diseases such as Lou Gehrig's.

    While such treatments may be many years away, the advance could sooner allow researchers to create motor neuron modeling systems to screen new drugs, says study leader Su-Chun Zhang of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


I wish the government would change their stance on Federal funding for this kind of research. It doesn't seem like the studies that they are funding have any chance of ever helping. At least California and other states are taking up the challenge and funding this important research.



Willful ignorance of science is not commendable. Refusing to learn the difference between a credible source and a shill is criminally stupid.
Promote this thread!
messenoir
Summer sausage








Since: 20.2.02
From: Columbia, MO

Since last post: 3989 days
Last activity: 3856 days
#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.10
Gah, I hate to open up a can of worms, but I am woefully ignorant on the issue of stem cells. Without lots of arguing, can people here provide me good information on the hows of using stem cells, what they could be used for, the dangers, etc?



Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Stilton
Frankfurter








Since: 7.2.04
From: Canada

Since last post: 6627 days
Last activity: 6627 days
#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.64
For more detailed information you can check out this website (stemcells.nih.gov) and click on the FAQ.

Basically, stem cells are cells that have not yet become skin or muscle or nerves or what have you. They're blank slate cells. A stem cell has the capability of mutating into any other kind of human cell. For example, it could be possible to use stem cells to repair a severed spinal cord, or to halt or even reverse the condition of Parkinson's disease.

As far as dangers go, scientits are desperate to find out how to prevent rejection of the stem cells used in therapy, but that goes equally for any kind of tissue transplant.



The Goal: SLACK
The Method: The Casting Out of False Prophets
The Weapon: Time Control
The Motto: "Fuck Them All of they Can't Take a Joke"
AWArulz
Scrapple








Since: 28.1.02
From: Louisville, KY

Since last post: 99 days
Last activity: 99 days
#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.72
    Originally posted by messenoir
    Gah, I hate to open up a can of worms, but I am woefully ignorant on the issue of stem cells. Without lots of arguing, can people here provide me good information on the hows of using stem cells, what they could be used for, the dangers, etc?


I think the arguments Stilton made are somewhat accurate. I just point out that there are two kinds of Stem Cells: Adult and Embyonic. There are scientists that believe either can be effective and you have scientists on both side believing only one or the other could possibly be effective.

Many people also believe there is an ethical issue with the embyonic stem cells, because the only way you get them is to take an egg and fertilize it, then extract the cells and then dispose of the embryo. Many people, myself included, believe that life begins at conception and, thus, that is the killing of a human life. Therein lies the ethical issue. A number of years before President Bush came into office, the Feds funded some Stem Cell research, including embryonic. President Bush, along with the majority of the congress, believe that the ethical issue mentioned above is serious enough to not risk continuing that funding for additional lines of research. (existing lines were not affected.) It seems now that the existing lines were contaminated.

There's no restriction against private companies or grant agencies conducting said embyonic research and there is a fairly large federal funding for adult stem cell research.




You're putting Descartes before the horse!
Dutchie
Summer sausage
Moderator








Since: 29.1.02
From: Michigan

Since last post: 7 days
Last activity: 1 day
#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 10.00
I agree that a lot of the funding (and granted, I haven't had the chance to read up on this too much since the encouragement of research-based reading stopped at graduation) is pretty widespread and frivolous, but if they can build off of the questions they raise with the creation of motor neurons with heavily-funded research, that'd be some nice progress.

Take ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease. The degeneration of motor neurons and pathways leads to the muscle atrophy and the gradual loss of function associated with ALS. Creating motor neurons wouldn't be helpful here because the pathways and cortical motor neurons are being destroyed by the body itself. There's hypotheses about why this occurs, most of which are on a more genetic level if I'm remembering correctly. So, rhetorically, does the possibility exist that use of stem cells could be bypassed if genetic therapy is pursued? Or would the drugs created through these new motor neuron models enhance drug therapy to the point of providing a "cure" for ALS? It's all pretty interesting to think about where research could go from all of this, but because of the mouse cell contamination in the batches we have now, it's probably not likely that we'll soon get a chance to see much research on something like this.



"You rock, Rolfski. You are one hep cat."
"Ya, ya, sock it to me."
messenoir
Summer sausage








Since: 20.2.02
From: Columbia, MO

Since last post: 3989 days
Last activity: 3856 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.10
Thank you all for the information. On an imporant issue like this, it doesn't do to remain ignorant.



Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
bash91
Merguez








Since: 2.1.02
From: Bossier City, LA

Since last post: 4242 days
Last activity: 2100 days
#7 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.49
It looks like, at least in Illinois (cnn.com) that stem cell research may have suffered another legal setback.

    Originally posted by CNN
    In an opinion issued Friday, Cook County Judge Jeffrey Lawrence said "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' ... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."...

    In his ruling, Lawrence relied on the state's Wrongful Death Act, which allows lawsuits to be filed if unborn fetuses are killed in an accident or assault. "The state of gestation or development of a human being" does not preclude taking legal action, the act says.

    Lawrence also cited an Illinois state law that says an "unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person."

    "There is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins," Lawrence wrote.


While an appeal is imminent, it's either good or bad news, depending on your point of view.

Tim






Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit. -- Erasmus
Thread rated: 5.97
Pages: 1
Thread ahead: PTC labels MTV as smut peddlers
Next thread: State of the Union Address
Previous thread: New Adventures in Political Pettiness
(881 newer) Next thread | Previous thread
Um, that's not quite why Dr. Elders was deservedly run out of town, but that's not on point to this thread. The Guardian article isn't a joke, it merely leaves out any and all context to his remarks.
The W - Current Events & Politics - Great news on the Stem Cell frontRegister and log in to post!

The W™ message board

ZimBoard
©2001-2024 Brothers Zim

This old hunk of junk rendered your page in 0.179 seconds.