The Future Is Now

National Review Online ^ | November 20, 2007 | Father Thomas Berg

[ovrtaxt]

It’s called “reprogramming.”

Another technical term for it is “somatic cell dedifferentiation.” Just get those terms into your vocabulary because they’ll be around for the foreseeable future. As reported in two scientific papers published today, reprogramming is now the future of stem cell research and renders ethically controversial therapeutic cloning obsolete.

Ever since the debate of embryo-destructive stem-cell research began in earnest in 1998 when researchers at the University of Wisconsin first isolated human embryonic stem cells, we’ve known that the best overall answer to the ethical impasse would be a solution that both allows the search for stem-cell related cures to go foreword, while doing so without harming or destroying embryonic human life in the process.

We now have that solution.

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Reprogramming takes normal adult body cells — such as skin cells — and sends each cell's nucleus back to a pluripotent state. In other words, the reprogrammed cells would then be capable of producing any tissue type in the human body — essentially equivalent in versatility to human embryonic stem cells.

Most importantly, there would be no embryo created, destroyed, damaged or used in any way at any point in the process.

Sounds like the issue is now totally taken away from the death woshippers.

[ovrtaxt]

life ping!

[Cicero]

Well, Father Berg is quite right to say that this SHOULD close the argument. But regretably, it won’t. In fact, it will be ignored by the usual suspects.

There already were better alternatives—adult stem cells and placental stem cells. But the politicians ignored that, because they could only be satisfied by a technology that promised to persuade people that abortion was good for their health, because aborted babies would provide the means to cure their ills.

This won’t suit the purposes of politicians in California or New Jersey, to take two prominent cases, because their whole aim is to legitimize abortion, by hook or by crook.

Still, it’s good news, and Father Berg is correct. Or would be correct, if our political lenemies were sane and honest.

[neverdem]

I was just about to read it. Thank you.

[Ben Hecks]

Offhand, I would say that this could lead to the repeal of the stem cell amendment that got rolled over us in 2006.

[rface]

I would guess this will turn embrio stem cell research as osolete.... I bet the law will stay on the books, as it is, but that research will fade away, focusing much more on this new technology