Stem cell research

[ilikecats]

I was in science class today, and we were learning about the benefits and drawbacks of stem cell research, and how its done. I saw there were many misconceptions about it, and that it can be used for many diseases. I want to see what others think about this subject.

[devonin]

Re: Stem cell research

Could you be a little more specific in setting down the actual question we're to be discussing and giving opinions on? Do we think it is a good idea? Do we think the potential benefits outweigh our misgivings? Could you maybe clear up some of these apparant misconceptions off the bat, so we don't waste time lodging them and having you have to explain why they are not the case?

[loghorse]

Re: Stem cell research

i need stem cell research for my type 1 diabetes

[xWnLx Crisco]

Re: Stem cell research

You know they can essentially cure parkinson disease and MS or stay off death from it for 20+ years, right? Problem is they need aborted or miscaraged fetuses to do it. They pull white matter from the brains of the fetuses that are still developing and neronal connections arent connected yet. They then inject this into the caudate of the person with the disease and after about a year 90% of original control and focus is back.

But now before the "don't kill" people chime in reverse the position you are in. If you father had PD and only needed a procedure from noted above would you say sorry dad your going to die?

[devonin]

Re: Stem cell research

If you father had PD and only needed a procedure from noted above would you say sorry dad your going to die?

What if it was your pregnant wife that needed to be forced to have an abortion to provide the needed material?

[xWnLx Crisco]

Re: Stem cell research

What if it was your pregnant wife that needed to be forced to have an abortion to provide the needed material?

Did you think that question through at all?

Do males get "forced" to donate sperm to a sperm bank?

Do females get "forced" to donate eggs to an egg bank?

So by your logic the only way to gain something is by force?

Wow no wonder we have a growing organ donation list and years worth of blood that the Red Cross uses daily.

[ilikecats]

Re: Stem cell research

To devonin's question:

The question " Should stem cell research continue to develop?' is a particulairly controversial subject. People are particaulairly ignorant in their understanding of the research, and what it involves. Some would argue it is not our place to affect the makeup of the human body, and that we should let nature take it's course. But, in all, the benefits such as the cure of diseases, gaining back time with families, and the possiblility of living life without fear of most fatal, and detrimental diseases much outweighs the drawbacks.

To my opposing opinion,most people believe that this will lead to human cloning which for many cultures, would be contradictory to their religions. People think we have no place in intervening with human life.Some also think that scientists cold-heartedly experiment on the aborted fetus.

First off, stem cell research DOES NOT use aborted fetus'.This is true for the present, and this is the main misconception. In the beginning, scientists did use these, but now they realized that they can't even use a fetus in the research because all the cells are already specialized. The specialization of the cells in the zygote is the very basis of stem cell research. They must use a zygote, not a fetus, and there is a big difference between the two. Here's the wikepedia page on it:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell

In the United States, stem cell research is illigal, which I personally think is a travesty,because there are people like who need it (chances are you know one), and there are millions others who need it, like people with leukemia which is a disease that kills 80% of the time (please correct me if I got these statistics wrong), and if stem cell research comes far enough, people who don't have limbs can have them grown back.

People can have backs their lives again, which is very precious, because quite often this is what people with disease miss the most. I have a freind who has a single mother with leukemia, and my freind spends much time in the hospital with her mother. If there were stem cell research, there would be much less single mothers in the hospital, and they would be able to have to take back their lives, instead of leave children in places like foster care.

It would be so nice to live life where we could live without fear of ruinous diseases, and where we wouldn't be in fear of losing our most precious possession, which is our families. We could live fuller lives, and be happier, and with stem cell cures, there would be a chain reaction, resulting, in a higher economy, and probably a lower rate of unemployment, and more happy people.

In conclusion, stem cell research should really be on the front of line in our priorties, because with all the haze and lies of things like global warming,(sidenote:check this out:http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...global+warming ) or the war in Iraq, or friggin anna nicole. Stem cell research is as legitimate as it gets, and It is a just cause.
Did that answer your question?

[loghorse]

Re: Stem cell research

i need to know when stem cell research will ever pass!!!!!!!!!,anybody who knows,please pm me

[devonin]

Re: Stem cell research

Did you think that question through at all?

Yes

Do males get "forced" to donate sperm to a sperm bank?

No

Do females get "forced" to donate eggs to an egg bank?

No

So by your logic the only way to gain something is by force?

No

Lets try this again: You said:

But now before the "don't kill" people chime in reverse the position you are in. If you father had PD and only needed a procedure from noted above would you say sorry dad your going to die?

You're being incredibly shady here, by trying to force someone's hand by appealing to their emotions. It's a standard addendum to the "train track" though experiment where you are presented with a choice that will will result in either 5 people dying, or 1 person dying. Generally people will sacrifice one person to save five. Then, to make it difficult, they say "What if the one person was your mother"

So before the "Dad is more important than some random fetus" people chime in, reverse the position -you- are in, what if the fetus isn't random, but from your wife, whom you love, and who wants to keep the baby?

[ilikecats]

Re: Stem cell research

My guess is stem cell research with either pass in Canada or Switzerland in the next 5 years. People in the university of Alberta in Canada were very, very close to curing diabetes until they hit a road block, because they somehow involved sars in the experiment. I think if that project is able to get back on its feet, stem cell research should find a cure for diabetes in the next two years

[ilikecats]

Re: Stem cell research

by the way, I know that in Canada, the only way stem cells can be aquired is if there are extra zygotes, because of the process of in-vitro fertilization. When there is an excess of zygotes, that the mother does not need, the parents are asked permission if the stem cells can be used in research, instead of the stem cells going in the garbage.

[xWnLx Crisco]

Re: Stem cell research

What are you trying to say? If she doesn't want to abort her child then she wait her it comes doesn't have to

How are you going to argue that if a female who wished to abort her child that she did not want and decided to let them do as they wanted with it is?

If my wife wanted to do this procedure I would back her 100% because she is an adult and can make life decisions on her own. If you are to tell her that its illegal to make a decision like that then something is morally wrong with your reasoning.

You're being incredibly shady here, by trying to force someone's hand by appealing to their emotions. It's a standard addendum to the "train track" though experiment where you are presented with a choice that will will result in either 5 people dying, or 1 person dying. Generally people will sacrifice one person to save five. Then, to make it difficult, they say "What if the one person was your mother"

So before the "Dad is more important than some random fetus" people chime in, reverse the position -you- are in, what if the fetus isn't random, but from your wife, whom you love, and who wants to keep the baby?

[loghorse]

Re: Stem cell research

My guess is stem cell research with either pass in Canada or Switzerland in the next 5 years. People in the university of Alberta in Canada were very, very close to curing diabetes until they hit a road block, because they somehow involved sars in the experiment. I think if that project is able to get back on its feet, stem cell research should find a cure for diabetes in the next two years

you really know your stuff,but i hope that the president of usa would give a thought to the people who need stem cell research,who agrees with me

[archbishopjabber]

Re: Stem cell research

From an altruistic standpoint there is no question of whether or not stem cell research is beneficial. Sacrificing cells to cure what were thought to be incurable ailments could really help us progress while cutting down on the trillion dollar health care budget considerably. The only argument is the rights of the fetus, which I would like to point out has gills for the first several weeks... so it is only "human" in the loosest sense of the word.

It has the potential to cure almost anything from missing limbs to cystic fibrosis and a plethora of other things. It also may have the potential to unlock a "fountain of youth" and prevent aging entirely. Embryonic stem cells are really the building blocks of life itself. They question is, are you willing to sacrifice an organism that is a little more than a blot of blood to achieve it? I think so, but fundamentalists do not...

Yes I know that there are alternative sources of stem cells other than embryo's but these cells are not nearly as effective. As for the "potential life" argument, I present this (I wrote this as an aside in a biology paper):

"I fully support unlimited embryonic stem cell research. With all the possibilities for cures that stem cells present it could revolutionize the field of medicine as we know it. Ethically I do not believe that creating stem cells and then using them for research is destroying a life. Many people argue that when fertilization occurs a “soul” enters the embryo. This is their reason for labeling stem cell research unethical. This does not make sense because after five our six days the few hundred cells that make up the blastocyst could theoretically be separated to create several hundred healthy individuals. If this were to be done where would the so called “soul” go? Would it separate into 300 souls, yielding individuals each with 1/300 of a soul? Or would one individual have a soul and all the others be soulless husks? Essentially the argument that embryonic stem cell research is unethical is completely irrational because the concept of some existential event occurring during conception is completely without merit or proof. There is no logical argument against stem cell research. Ultimately, the trade off is the destruction of a handful of undifferentiated cells in order to alleviate pain and suffering world wide. This seems to me to be a more than fair trade-off."

The scientific evidence against a "soul" at conception is there. Religious fundamentalists you may begin to get cranky...now.

[AOL_blows911]

Re: Stem cell research

I personaly support stem cell research. The potential gains vastly outweigh the potential dangers to me. I can see where some religious types would disagree with it (I personaly am not too religious), though.

I have a close friend that's diabetic, and if they realy were that close to breaking through and finding a cure for him, I would support it even more.

Admittedly though, my knowledge on the subject is...lacking. I don't have the time to look it up now, I've got an essay for school to finish, but I'll go research it in-depth tomorrow in study hall and be back. I've been meaning to look at stem cell research in-depth for a while now, and this seems like as good a reason as any