Embryonic Stem Cells to Cure Disease is "Folly"
Finally, an honest researcher on this topic. I'm so sick of hearing about how embryonic stem cell research will save the world, when there hasn't been any successes to date (that and the whole killing a human being thing). And the discrediting of adult stem cell research (the type of stem cell research that isn't morally reprehensible) rings sooo hollow. I just don't understand it. It's like some researches WANT to end embryonic human life, even in the face of progress on the adult stem cell end.
posted by Becky @ 8:27 PM
6 Comments:
“Embryonic stem cells cannot be used directly [because] they form tumours when transplanted into mature tissues,”
The scarey thing about this, is that they are letting the embryo mature, so it becomse more stable before experimenting with him/her. My question, how far are they willing to go in the name of science? I agree with you 100% that this whole idealogy is disgusting.
Embryonic stem cell research is still in its infancy since they were first isolated in 1998. Adult stem cells on the other hand have been studied since the 1960s so more progress has been made. According to the National Institutes of Health, embryonic stem cells are thought to have much greater developmental potential than adult stem cells. It is therefore important to allow researchers to explore the potential of embryonic stem cells through basic research since they may be able to treat diseases that adult stem cells are not able to treat. Medical treatments using embryonic stem cells may take decades to develop so is improper to judge the potential of the field simply by the progress since 1998. You seem to view the destruction of the blastocyst that is necessary to obtain embryonic stem cells as the killing of a human being. I and most researchers disagree with you on the grounds that a blastocyst is only a mass of 50-150 mainly undifferentiated cells. In the interview referenced by the article, Dr. Sherley expresses skepticism about the potential of embryonic stem cells for use as a treatment for diseases. When he is asked whether it would be wrong to ignore embryonic stem cell research when it would lead to a cure he states, "I would agree, if it did not require that human beings be exploited and killed." This bias should be taken into account when evaluating his objections to embryonic stem cell research.
It's a "bias" that many researchers hold, fortunately. At what point, then does the "mass of cells" become a human being, if you think it isn't already?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ricardo,
If you do not see the destruction of an embryo as prematurely ending the life a potential person, then we seek truth from different sources, and what I am writing has no bearing to your sense of reasoning.
The ends never justifies the means. An embryo is the source of all human life that is being destroyed by unnatural means for experimentation. The issue is wether you value one life over another. No human being has ownership over a human life, period.
The word blastocyst is helping me depart from my pro-life views. Before I take the plunge however, I need more science language to help close my eyes to the biological entity's unique identity. Let's keep improving on blastocyst - how bout, blastocystaroidicis; embrioordinalblastocystatroid ? embricius cormiguioph with blastocysisian potentialities in the order of Manheims dodehedronal model ? Ahh forget it, let's just use binary code. Becky, we've been wrong all along 100010110010 is not human life, we should use creative algorithisms to extract as much 100010101 from 101010101 1000101 1100 10010 11000 01001010101100.
Blastocyst. Can I have country of original please ? Can you use it in a sentence. Blastocyst. B-l-a-s-t-o-c-y-s-tedious word games.
You know musicians get eerily upset when you stop them in the middle of a song ?
Post a Comment
<< Home