Guest guest Posted April 26, 2000 Report Share Posted April 26, 2000 << http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/scitech/docs/brains25.htm >> One sentence reads: " The cells were rescued from the brains of aborted fetuses and then coaxed into living. Now they are flourishing, reproducing more than 60 times over during the past year. " This is probably upsetting to some people, however the medical community uses the term aborted fetuses when describing the result of a miscarriage!!! Miscarriage is not a term used by physicians; aborted or abortion is. Miscarriage is a lay person term only. Therefore, they are not talking of aborting babies in order to get a supply of these stem cells. They are referring to fetuses that did not survive and were spontaneously aborted - commonly referred to as a miscarriage. I think these stem cells can also be harvested from the umbilical cord, but someone else may know more about that. The article goes on to say: " The goal of the scientists at StemCells Inc. is to transplant these cells into damaged brains, where they might grow into functional tissue and build a path along which relief and recovery could travel. " Their research yielded the first successful isolation of normal human brain stem cells directly from brain tissue. The cells have been purified and have dramatically reproduced in cultures, said Nobuko Uchida, leader of the neural stem cell research team at StemCells Inc. Some have even started growing extensions, called axons, to help communicate with one another. " 'It is a breakthrough that could open the way to utilizing these cells to replace or repair diseased or damaged tissue,' she said. " Fulfillment of this dream may still be decades away, but scientists at a growing number of biotech companies are seeking ways to harness the power of 'stem cells' to develop into any type of cell in the body. " Kat in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2000 Report Share Posted April 26, 2000 In a message dated 4/26/2000 10:52:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time, KathleenLS@... writes: << Their research yielded the first successful isolation of normal human brain stem cells directly from brain tissue. The cells have been purified and have dramatically reproduced in cultures, said Nobuko Uchida, leader of the neural stem cell research team at StemCells Inc. Some have even started growing extensions, called axons, to help communicate with one another. " 'It is a breakthrough that could open the way to utilizing these cells to replace or repair diseased or damaged tissue,' she said. " Fulfillment of this dream may still be decades away, but scientists at a growing number of biotech companies are seeking ways to harness the power of 'stem cells' to develop into any type of cell in the body. " Kat in Seattle >> Where do we sign up? jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2000 Report Share Posted April 28, 2000 Kat, thank-you for claifying this statement..... Jeanie ******************** In a message dated 4/26/00 10:52:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time, KathleenLS@... writes: << One sentence reads: " The cells were rescued from the brains of aborted fetuses and then coaxed into living. Now they are flourishing, reproducing more than 60 times over during the past year. " This is probably upsetting to some people, however the medical community uses the term aborted fetuses when describing the result of a miscarriage!!! >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.