Nov 17 2007
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Going The Way Of “Bleedings”
There was a time when scientists and doctors thought the best way to cure the diseases plaguing humanity was to bleed the poisons from them. Besides not doing anything productive the process could actually have a bad effect and weaken the patient enough to kill them.
As dumb as this sounds it was the best science had at the time. And in each moment in history we have had some solid foundations and some whacked out ideas and it has been hard for the people at the time to know the difference. But there are indications when ideas are not going to pan out – like when they don’t produce any results! That one is sort of the obvious sign to watch for.
And that is exactly what has been happening in regards to Embryonic Stem Cell therapies – none have been produced. I have tons of posts on the successes of Adult Stem Cell therapies and the failures with Embryonic Stem Cells for people to purview if they like. Having a BS in Biology gives me some real credibility on the subject. But now even some of the embryo industry’s founding scientists are turning their back on Embryonic Stem Cell research:
The scientist who created Dolly the sheep, a breakthrough that provoked headlines around the world a decade ago, is to abandon the cloning technique he pioneered to create her.
Prof Ian Wilmut’s decision to turn his back on “therapeutic cloning”, just days after US researchers announced a breakthrough in the cloning of primates, will send shockwaves through the scientific establishment.
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Prof Wilmut, who works at Edinburgh University, believes a rival method pioneered in Japan has better potential for making human embryonic cells which can be used to grow a patient’s own cells and tissues for a vast range of treatments, from treating strokes to heart attacks and Parkinson’s, and will be less controversial than the Dolly method, known as “nuclear transfer.”
His announcement could mark the beginning of the end for therapeutic cloning, on which tens of millions of pounds have been spent worldwide over the past decade. “I decided a few weeks ago not to pursue nuclear transfer,” Prof Wilmut said.
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His inspiration comes from the research by Prof Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, which suggests a way to create human embryo stem cells without the need for human eggs, which are in extremely short supply, and without the need to create and destroy human cloned embryos, which is bitterly opposed by the pro life movement.
Prof Yamanaka has shown in mice how to turn skin cells into what look like versatile stem cells potentially capable of overcoming the effects of disease.
Unlimited stem cells from the patient’s own skin versus mass production of human beings designed to be harvested for their spare parts. And given the fact there are tens of therapies out there from Adult Stem Cells and none from Embryos the moral decision is made even easier.
We don’t need to have more embryos in vast Matrix-like factories ready to be slaughtered than are in wombs waiting to be born in order to cure diseases. Especially since, so far, those factories CAN’T cure or treat any diseases since no one has found any viable cures or therapies. The snake oil of killing embryos in order to find cure has now been so debunked even the scientists are turning away. Now if only the scientifically illiterate news media and politicians would pay attention and stop wasting money on a failed pipe dream.
The likely way this will have to occur is for an industry wide independent ethics review panel to publish a report with enough credibility to provide for congressional action or having some major group of fundraisers like Bill Gates and such along with funding by the doctors and medical community members to allow support of independent research outside the captive pharmaceutical/medical research industry to release adult stem cell alternatives into the public domain.
The vast benefits that can be achieved along with likely major cost differences between generic adult stem cell therapies compared to for profit methods from embryonic stem cells could result in drastic improvements in medical outcomes and long term cost reductions for medical care rather than just the opposite by following paths that make far less scientific sense, but just the economic one of we can patent this thing.
AJ,
Solid post!
The science is there. We are just waiting for the media and the public to catch up.
Skin? I thought the idea was to use fat.
It’s not a beer gut, it’s a spare parts locker 🙂
Look, I am bothered by those that twist Bush’s position, however you are twisting as well. The way that I understand embryonic stem cells is that it is like a blank disk upon which anything can be written. Adult stem cells are also blank disks however they are function for only sort of function like DVD’s or CD’s, or video games, etc.
That said, just because something has scientific potential doesn’t mean that we as a society should support it, and certainly not use federal funds for its support. Human cloning could probably have plenty of potential scientifically but that doesn’t mean we should support it either.
Object to embryonic stem cell research on moral reasons, not scientific. I don’t think anyone of us is equipped to make such determinations, and if we were we wouldn’t maintain a political blog.
Here is how I view the issue.
http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/2007/11/if-embryonic-stem-cell-research-is-so.html
Volpe,
I have a BS in Biology. Your “understanding” is a 3rd grade level of comprehension. Stem cells are the key cells in the early human which create the physical being. They are not a ‘blank slate’. They are the precursors to AN INDIVIDUAL’S organs, tissues, limbs etc.
Why should those trained in the science care how wrong those not educated in the field are??