ESC

Quit Y/N?

Y

this is a *duplicate of this post:

http://www.videosift.com/video/Esc-how-to-deal-with-bad-files

"If you believed that the earth was flat, does that mean the earth is flat?"
The problem with that line is that the Earth has been proven to be, in fact round. It has also been proven that an egg that has been fertalized with a sperm has the same potential to become a human being as any other fertialized egg that the egg and sperm do not possess seperately. Both zygote cells are in fact living cells but they don't have the potential to become living human being until they are combined i.e. fertalized.

"If you're against ESC research because you believe life begins at conception, then do you believe that conception can occur in a test tube? I believe conception occurs in the womb, not a test tube."

That's a perfectly valid and respectable position to take. If that's your belief then you're entitled to it. But hypotheticlly speaking, if an embryo in created invitro and grown into an independantly living infant in a labratory, is that that not also considered life as opposed to an invitro fertilization that was implanted into a uterus that also results in an infant? Bear in mind that this is a hypothetical situation and only one part of the growing debate of bioethics.

To reitterate for amxcvbcv and Dag, I don't subscribe to the Catholic belief that "every sperm is sacred", because by themselves, a sperm and egg cannot create life seperately, but the human species was created/evolved (pick one or both)in a way that an egg and a sperm are combined expressly for the sole purpose of creating life and propogating the species and in my opinion, not for experimentation.

"As of now there is NO EVIDENCE that embryonic stem cells even hold promise, while other approaches, such as adult stem cells, already have yielded results."

What about all of this research done with mice and mice ESC which has shown to regenerate a mouse's damaged spinal cord. Where are these results that adult stem cells have shown, I have not seen them.

"I'll come right out and say I'm against embryonic stell cell research because I believe that life does begin at conception and thus ebryonic research destroys life. That is my belief."

If you believed that the earth was flat, does that mean the earth is flat?

If you're against ESC research because you believe life begins at conception, then do you believe that conception can occur in a test tube? I believe conception occurs in the womb, not a test tube.

Are you against IVF? The process of IVF destroys hundreds of thousands of embryos each year. I'm not talking about just the left overs that are thrown away. Several are destroyed in the process just to have a successful pregnancy.

There are other ways to get embryonic stem cells than just using left over IVF embryos. Are you against Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer to create ESCs? SCNT uses an unfertilized egg and a DNA sample (usually a skin cell) to create an ESC line matching the patients DNA. This process shows the most promise in ESC research becase the stem cells have no chance of being rejected by the patient.

People oppose SCNT because the same process can be used for human cloning, but only if the cells are implanted in a woman. This has been unproven though, and most scientist believe that the "embryo" would not develop normally even if it survives. They use the argument that the research can be abused, so we should ban it all together.

I am for researching both adult and embryonic stem cells. I've read articles from scientist that say ESC research is needed to fully understand the potential of adult stem cells.

"There is a difference between "stem cell research" and "embryonic stem cell research." Various conditions have been treated with some success with stem cells from adults. Literally nothing has been accomplished with stem cells from aborted feti. Opposing using embryos is not the same as opposing research or not caring about suffering."

First embryonic stem cells do not come from aborted fetuses. Second, name one disease or injury that has been cured by adult stem cells. Third, back to your argument that nothing has been accomplished with ESC, that is because thanks to Bush's restrictions, there are only a limited number of ESC lines available for research, none of which can be used in humans trials because they have become contaminated with other feeder cells.

"Amendment 2 would not criminalize stem cell research like Fox says it will."

Nobody said amendment 2 would criminalize stem cell research. Fox said Tenent supported criminalizing ESC research.

" Easily dismissed via . . . Wikipedia? Please. I'd also ask you to note the word "potential" in your own source."

So your against research that shows potential? The Wikipedia article is correct, but if you won't believe it, try this source from the NIH:

"Embryonic stem cells, as their name suggests, are derived from embryos. Specifically, embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro—in an in vitro fertilization clinic—and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. They are not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body. The embryos from which human embryonic stem cells are derived are typically four or five days old and are a hollow microscopic ball of cells called the blastocyst. The blastocyst includes three structures: the trophoblast, which is the layer of cells that surrounds the blastocyst; the blastocoel, which is the hollow cavity inside the blastocyst; and the inner cell mass, which is a group of approximately 30 cells at one end of the blastocoel."

"Blastocyst — A preimplantation embryo of about 150 cells. The blastocyst consists of a sphere made up of an outer layer of cells (the trophectoderm), a fluid-filled cavity (the blastocoel), and a cluster of cells on the interior (the inner cell mass)."

Also from the same NIH article:

"V. What are the similarities and differences between embryonic and adult stem cells?

Human embryonic and adult stem cells each have advantages and disadvantages regarding potential use for cell-based regenerative therapies. Of course, adult and embryonic stem cells differ in the number and type of differentiated cells types they can become. Embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body because they are pluripotent. Adult stem cells are generally limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. However, some evidence suggests that adult stem cell plasticity may exist, increasing the number of cell types a given adult stem cell can become.

Large numbers of embryonic stem cells can be relatively easily grown in culture, while adult stem cells are rare in mature tissues and methods for expanding their numbers in cell culture have not yet been worked out. This is an important distinction, as large numbers of cells are needed for stem cell replacement therapies.

Nice try, Gov. wallace - but that particular right-wing talking point is easily dismissed via Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell#Embryonic_Stem_Cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, which is an early stage embryo - approximately 4 to 5 days old in humans - consisting of 50-150 cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. In other words, they can develop into each of the more than 200 cell types of the adult body when given sufficient and necessary stimulation for a specific cell type. When given no stimuli for differentiation, ESCs will continue to divide in vitro and each daughter cell will remain pluripotent. The pluripotency of ESCs distinguishes them from adult stem cells or progenitor cells, the latter two only having the capacity to form a more limited number of different cell types.

Because of their unique combined abilities of unlimited expansion and pluripotency, embryonic stem cells are a potential source for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. To date, no approved medical treatments have been derived from embryonic stem cell research. This is not unusual for a new medical research field; in this case, the first human embryonic stem cell line was only reported in 1998.