Posted on 04/24/2003 8:59:56 AM PDT by RJCogburn
Scientists claim to have discovered a way of producing embryonic stem cells that could side-step the entire ethical debate surrounding such research.
Researchers from the US bio-tech company Stemron have produced embryos capable of providing stem cells, but which can never become human beings.
It is the first time scientists have used a technique called parthenogenesis on human cells.
Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which the egg develops without fertilisation. The phenomenon occurs naturally in many insects, while artificial parthenogenesis has been achieved in almost all groups of animals, although it usually results in abnormal development.
No successful experiments with human parthenogenesis have previously been reported. But researchers from Stemron report in the journal Stem Cells that they have successfully used artificial parthenogenesis in humans and that the cells taken from one of the embryos survived for a number of days.
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Associate Professor Martin Pera, from the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, described the findings as an "interesting advancement" in the study of stem cells. But he said the advancement was not totally unexpected as parthenogenesis had already been used in non-human primates.
He said the most intriguing aspect of the work would be in determining whether the cells were "normal".
Seems to me that this also avoids moral questions by using unfertilized eggs to produce stem cells.BumpIf life begins at conception, then no conception = no life
There are quite a few more that I've just been too lazy to integrate in the database on my web site. If you're interested I can spend some time and do that.
It's clear that once people started looking at adult and cord/ placental stem cells their capabilities are at least as good as fetal stem cells without the moral baggage.
This isn't a fertilized ovum. It would never grow into a human baby. From the sound of the above article, they aren't even sure these cells they got from the parthenogenisis are usable, normal, embryonic stem cells.
If this is just a tricky way of manipulating an ovum, then it isn't a human baby. What's the big deal?
You don't have to "hyperstimulate" anyone's ovaries to produce more eggs - you were born with all the eggs you'll ever have, and you don't produce any more during your lifetime. Assuming you're a woman, that is, which seems a safe assumption from your handle ;)
All fertility drugs do is increase the rate at which they are released from the ovary. If you want an egg just to play with, you don't need to administer any drugs that I know of - all you have to do is go extract them directly from the ovary.
Well, that's the $64,000 question, isn't it? Parthenogenesis doesn't occur naturally in humans, but among animals where it is known to occur, or can be induced to occur, it usually results in either outright failure to develop into an adult - either it's stillborn, or simply reabsorbed into the mother at a very early stage - or it "develops", and becomes "viable", but not in a normal manner, and winds up with a host of abnormal defects when compared to non-parthenogenetic animals. Very rarely, a parthenogenetic organism will appear to develop into a normal adult organism.
But the difference is, as I said, that fertilization + implantation is the normal mode of development, whereas parthenogenesis is 100% artificial, and does not occur in humans without human intervention. Add to that the fact that it is overwhelmingly likely that parthenogenetic embryos simply cannot develop into normal humans, and I think you're in the clear, morally speaking. So, in a less circuitous manner, the answer to your first question is "almost certainly not - you will not get a baby if you implant one of these embryos in a womb." As for the second, how similar they are to normally created embryos remains to be seen.
Right, fine. But as I said in my previous post, we're also talking about embryos here where it's extremely likely that it cannot develop into a viable human baby. If you actually implanted one into a womb, the likelihood is that it would just spontaneously abort or be reabsorbed or be stillborn anyway. We're talking about embryos that really aren't long-term viable anyway, so where does that leave us?
Seems to be true. Sexual versus asexual reproduction has not been part of this developing story until now. It's a new factor. So we shall refine our definitions.
Even if I accept that to be true, which I don't...so what? Do you object when people donate parts of themselves upon their death in order to further medical science? Do you obect when people donate organs in order to save the lives of others? Why should you object if they part with bits they neither need or want while they are still living? We're not talking about viable human embryos, so this is not like abortion where we should consider the interests of some other human being - and since that argument is now right out the window, what business is it of yours what someone else chooses to do with their own body?
I think you're right on the money. If we define embryo as "actually or potentially able to develop into a viable adult", then I don't think this really fits that definition. But using the word "embryo" does seem to trigger a set of reflexive responses ;)
I hope you're right. I think once people get past that word "embryo", then it will turn out to be a little cleaner of an issue, morally speaking, than using actual fetal stem cells. This "embryo" really is no such thing, since there's virtually no potential for an independent life to develop from it. Now, if that's the case, there's really nothing special about this particular bundle of cells, any more than any other bundle of cells, and so I don't see how they require special treatment, any more than a swab of cells from your cheek requires special treatment.
We'll see where folks come down on this, though - people can be stubborn sometimes ;)
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