Heartland

Can anyone elaborate on the science behind this issue? Although I am a scientist, this is not my area (I work on plants!)

Is it not basically the extraction of stem cells from an embryo (the first cells in an embryo) to produce cells that can be "tuned" to turn into any kind of cell found in a person (via the insertion of DNA?)

That's complete laymans terms..

Only problem is, because they are only found in the first stage ofan embryo they have to be taken from that, though they can be generated again from the cells harvested.. I think



From wiki:

Stem cells in animals are primal undifferentiated cells that retain the ability to divide and differentiate into other cell types. In higher plants this function is the defining property of the meristematic cells. Stem cells have the ability to act as a repair system for the body, because they can divide and differentiate, replenishing other cells as long as the host organism is alive.

Medical researchers believe stem cell research has the potential to change the face of human disease by being used to repair specific tissues or to grow organs. Yet there is general agreement that, "significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research."[1]

The study of stem cells is attributed as beginning in the 1960s after research by Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till.

Contents [hide]
1 Stem Cell Types
1.1 Potency
1.2 Sources
2 Treatments
3 Controversy surrounding stem cell research
4 Key events in stem cell research
5 End material
5.1 Notes
5.2 External links
5.2.1 Peer-reviewed journals
5.2.2 Peer-reviewed references
5.2.3 Guides
5.2.4 News



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Stem Cell Types
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Potency
The potency specifies the differentiation potential (the potential to differentiate into different cell types) of the stem cell.

Totipotent stem cells are produced from the fusion of an egg and sperm cell. Cells produced by the first few divisions of the fertilized egg cell are also totipotent. These cells can differentiate into embryonic and extraembryonic cell types.
Pluripotent stem cells are the descendants of totipotent cells and can differentiate into cells derived from the three germ layers.
Multipotent stem cells can produce only cells of a closely related family of cells (e.g. hematopoeietic stem cells differentiate into red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets etc.).
Unipotent cells can produce only one cell type, but have the property of self-renewal which distinguishes them from non-stem cells.
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Sources
Stem cells are also categorized according to their source, as either adult, embryonic, or cord blood stem cells.

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic (from Greek Σωματικóς, of the body) stem cells, they can be found in children, as well as adults.
Embryonic stem cells are cultured cells obtained from the undifferentiated inner mass cells of an early stage human embryo (sometimes called a blastocyst, which is an embryo that is between 50 to 150 cells).
Cord blood stem cells are derived from the blood of the placenta and umbilical cord after birth.
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Treatments
Main article: Stem cell treatments
Medical researchers believe that stem cell research has the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering. A number of current treatments already exist, although the majority of them are not commonly used because they tend to be experimental and not very cost-effective. Medical researchers anticipate being able to use technologies derived from stem cell research to treat cancer, spinal cord injuries, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other diseases, impairments and conditions. However, there still exists a great deal of social and scientific uncertainty surrounding stem cell research, which could possibly be overcome by gaining the acceptance of the public and through years of intensive research.

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Controversy surrounding stem cell research
Main article: Stem cell controversy
There exists a widespread controversy over stem cell research that emanates from the techniques used in the creation and usage of stem cells. Embryonic stem cell research is particularly controversial because, with the present state of technology, starting a stem cell 'line' requires the destruction of a human embryo and/or therapeutic cloning. Opponents of the research argue that this practice is a slippery slope to reproductive cloning and tantamount to the instrumentalization of a potential human being. Contrarily, some medical researchers in the field argue that it is necessary to pursue embryonic stem cell research because the resultant technologies are expected to have significant medical potential. The ensuing debate has prompted national and international authorities to seek suitable regulatory frameworks and highlighted the fact that stem cell research represents a moral, social and ethical challenge.

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Key events in stem cell research
1960s - Joseph Altman and Gopal Das present evidence of adult neurogenesis, ongoing stem cell activity in the brain; their reports contradict Cajal's "no new neurons" dogma and are largely ignored
1963 - McCulloch and Till illustrate the presence of self-renewing stem cells in mouse bone marrow
1968 - bone marrow transplant between two siblings successfully treats SCID
1978 - haematopoietic stem cells are discovered in human cord blood
1981 - mouse embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass
1992 - neural stem cells are cultured in vitro as neurospheres
1995 - President Bill Clinton signs into law the Dickey Amendment which makes it illegal for Federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of the embryo.
1997 - leukemia is shown to originate from a haematopoietic stem cell, the first direct evidence for cancer stem cells
1998 - James Thomson and coworkers derive the first human embryonic stem cell line at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
2000s - several reports of adult stem cell plasticity are published
2004-2005 - Hwang Woo-Suk claims to have created several human embryonic stem cell lines from unfertilised human oocytes. The lines are later shown to be fabricated
2006 - Pasteur Institute scientists provide evidence that muscle stem cells might retain both template DNA strands during cell division, resulting in conservative rather than semiconservative DNA replication.[2]
July 19, 2006 - President George W. Bush vetoed a bill which would have allowed Federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of the embryo.

Can't you also get them from blood in the umbilical cord? I think I read that somewhere. Bush's obstinacy on this issue marks him as the kind of twitkin that would probably have denied patients penicillin on the grounds that it was derived from mould, and we all know mould is bad, right? I reckon anyone who opposes stuff like this should be banned from receiving treatment if the treatment derives from stem cell research. Take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning.

Thank you Doktor Gott