Posted on 10/10/2006 4:17:41 PM PDT by wagglebee
I'm anti-ESC, but I have to point out that your statement is factually incorrect. The amount of public money going into ESC is tiny because the Federal Government, under the president's executive order, will not fund it.
There is some state money going in, and some foriegn governments are funding it, but none of these other public sources have the kind of resources of our Federal Government.
I would like to see my side stick to the ethical case. Speculating about whether or not it could provide cures is really beside the point, IMHO.
Fascinating. I'd heard about the failures but I hadn't heard about the tumors. I'm very limited in biological science study, but I'm pretty logical. Could it be that the embryonic cells are faster replicating and out of synch with the more mature host?
Embryonic stem cell "research" in the European Union has less than 1 millions euros allocated annually for it. Even they know it's a blind alley.
It's true that the Fed'l gov't has more resources than the states do. But not a lot of that money goes to any specific research project. What the states give is more than many projects could expect from the Feds.
It's not totally correct that no Fed'l money goes to ESC research. Bush did allow money for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines.
That's just not true. It's only a couple states doing it, and the amounts they are actually giving dwarf the amount comparable projects get from the NIH and other Fed institutions that fund scientific research.
It's not totally correct that no Fed'l money goes to ESC research. Bush did allow money for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines.
Correct, but only a small number of those lines are actually usable, and the amount that has been spent thus far is very small.
Which is a good thing, I might add. I think ESC research is unethical.
About the same place it is today --- just around the corner after we get our next grant. Literally, 30 years ago I talked to one of the Princeton Tokamak guys who flat out guaranteed that we would have fusion in just 10 more years --- as long as congress kept funding the program. Congress did.
One thousand miles journey starts with the first step and continues with the next ones, but he who stops walking will never reach the goal.
There is nothing stopping people from doing embryonic stem cell research now. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and George Sourus can dump their entire fortunes into financing it if they choose. I appreciate the fact that under Bush, the US Government has said it will not finance a practice that many taxpayers, myself included, see as inhumane, and the serious scientific data, including from this MIT guy, say that adult stem cells hold all of the promise and none of the malignant, either moral or biological, downsides of embryonic cells.
The embryonic stem cell debate is pure political football relying on the scientific and moral illiteracy of a large portion of the voting population. If it weren't for the politics involved and based strictly on the data, no one would even consider embryonic research.
But it's a position supported by the Pro-Life camp. Therefore it has to be fought against by the Pro-Death camp. Logic and evidence be damned.
To all pro-lifers - not specifically wagglebee - please be cautious about LifeNews. Often Ertelt doesn't get the story right and mixes up stem cell methods.
BTW, left as as MIT is, Professor Sherley is no lefty ;-)
This has been know for some time among researchers. But the press seldom mentions it. In my opinion, the bias of the press prevents them from reporting this.
Could it be that the embryonic cells are faster replicating and out of synch with the more mature host?
The article notes part of the problem:
He said the tumors form because embryonic stem cells have the potential to turn into various other kinds of tissues -- including the wrong ones. “When you put them in an environment where they can grow and develop, they make lots of different kind of tissues,” Sherley said.
Stem cells have the potential to become any type of cell in the body. Researches simply don't understand all of the mechanism involved to direct a stem cell to become only one type of cell and remain that type of cell.
There is another problem that the article does not mention. There is some evidence to suggest that stem cells, once they develop into a mature cell, could spontaneously revert back to a stem cell.
Here are a couple of articles from last year that you might want to read:
"Medical value of Stem Cells 'Over-Hyped' "
"Stem Cell Hopes Distortred by 'Arrogance and Spin' "
That's because the US hasn't put 10% of its GNP into embryonic stem cell research, you heartless creep. /HEAVY sarcasm
For the Left, the more money one confiscates from others, the more compassionate one is. Concern over results is selfish.
$3 billion from California taxpayers via Prop 71. That's pretty good for "some money."
False comparison
The technology to harvest adult stem cells has been around since the 1960's while the ability to harvest embryonic stem cells has been around only since 1998. So you are comparing 40 year old technology to technology less than a decade old.
An analogy to your argument would be in 1936 saying we shouldn't research jet engines because we have dozens of examples of working propeller driven airplanes
2. Human life is destroyed to create embryonic stem cells.
And if they are not used for research they are thrown in the garbage as medical waste, so we might as well get some use out of them
Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
And that is why the Germans used the hair of slaughtered Jews to line boots and jackets and occasionally made soap and lampshades out of them. Might as well get some good use out of them Joooz.
Embryonic stem cells would be tissue transplantation from another person. Adult stem cells use the patient's own DNA. Embryonic stem cells would have much greater regulation cost and litigation risk.
That's the spirit. Kill a baby for Rush!
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