Author Topic: Stem Cell Research (Read 1588 times)

midnight Target · « **on:** October 11, 2004, 05:34:55 PM »

Should be ON Topic during a discussion of the life and death of Chris Reeve. It was his cause and his life's work over the last 9 years.

AKIron · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:39:19 PM »

Government support for adult stem cell research continues as does that on fetus stem cell research on those fetuses already procured. Private research is in no way obstructed. There are many Americans that pay taxes and are opposed to abortion as birth control and liken the research performed on these aborted fetuses as that done by the Nazis. Have these tax paying citizens no say in how their tax dollars are spent?

straffo · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:40:49 PM »

Stem cell are not foetus ... yet.

Dowding · « **Reply #3 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:41:44 PM »

Quote

...and liken the research performed on these aborted fetuses as that done by the Nazis.

Sensaltionalistic nonsense. On par and teeing up for the 18th as usual.

Geneticists = teh Nazis!

Lizking · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:47:12 PM »

First, MT, show me how or where stem cell research has been blocked, stifled or outlawed. After you (can't) do that, we will discuss how best to approach the problem in the future.

AKIron · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:47:38 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Dowding
Sensaltionalistic nonsense. On par and teeing up for the 18th as usual.

Geneticists = teh Nazis!

I couldn't think of anyone else more like the Nazis that kill the innocent in the name of scientific research. Of course since you know that fetuses aren't human it isn't murder, right? Hmmmm, I think the Nazis looked at the jews in much the same manner.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:47:42 PM »

Would have been nice for that to happen, but it got ugly MT. I imagine this will too. See if you can moderate it to where it doesn't.

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #7 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:50:16 PM »

Ahhh I had a feeling that this is what all those "off Topic" posts were.

Stem Cll research is allowed in the US. They just will not be funded by the government.

I am for the reasearch.
But I can respect Bush's decision on it and his "Ethical" reasonings behind it.
Tho I do dissagree on the embryo point on those embryos that will be destroyed anyway.
But otherwise
I can see how this research can be misused.

To me it seems he made the most fair decision his concience Would allow.

Neither side was happy with it which tells me its probably pretty close to being the right one.

Dowding · « **Reply #8 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:55:00 PM »

You heard it here first... proponents of stem cell research are paid up members of the Nazi party.

You just love your staw man arguments, AKIron. You're lazy, with a perchant for self-righteous indignation and chest-thumping rhetoric.

The systematic extermination of the Jews is in no way comparable to the use of stem cells taken from day old embryos (not foetuses - not sure what type of biology they taught you, if any, but perhaps you could look up the birth cycle).

While there is undoubtedly a moral angle to this, your hysterical analogies certainly don't further any debate.

ra · « **Reply #9 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:55:49 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by straffo
Stem cell are not foetus ... yet.

Some stem cells are harvested from embryos, thus killing the embryo. Bush has put restrictions on this.

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #10 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:57:04 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by straffo
Stem cell are not foetus ... yet.

Incorrect.
Stem cells can be taken from A Fetus Just as they can an adult

But the subject at hand is Embronic stem cells which is what I think you ment.

Embryos are not Fetuses.

And that is a subject for yet another debate.

Lizking · « **Reply #11 on:** October 11, 2004, 05:58:27 PM »

No, Ra, he has not. What he has done is limit Federal spending to a certain amount of stem cell cultures that already exist. No Federal money can be spent to develop new lines. Anyone else is free to do so.

myelo · « **Reply #12 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:03:44 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Would have been nice for that to happen, but it got ugly MT. I imagine this will too. See if you can moderate it to where it doesn't.

A good first step would be for people to stop using the N word.

AKIron · « **Reply #13 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:06:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Dowding
You heard it here first... proponents of stem cell research are paid up members of the Nazi party.

You just love your staw man arguments, AKIron. You're lazy, with a perchant for self-righteous indignation and chest-thumping rhetoric.

The systematic extermination of the Jews is in no way comparable to the use of stem cells taken from day old embryos (not foetuses - not sure what type of biology they taught you, if any, but perhaps you could look up the birth cycle).

While there is undoubtedly a moral angle to this, your hysterical analogies certainly don't further any debate.

You seem to be the one doing all the chest-thumping and full of self-righteous indignation here. Yes, there is a refusal by Bush to allow US tax dollars to support embryonic stem cell research. So I misstated the issue at hand. It is the same principle, experimentation at the expense of human life.

myelo · « **Reply #14 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:11:26 PM »

Not all research in spinal cord injury involves stem cells. Other strategies include treatment to blunt the damage during the acute phase, improve conduction at the injury site, encourage regeneration after the initial injury, and rehabilitation to help compensate for incomplete recovery.

For example, methylprednisolone has been shown to slightly improve outcome when administered within the first 8 hours of injury and is routinely used. 4-Aminopyridine was shown to improve conduction in a small clinical study and is being evaluated in a larger study. An implantable device that uses low-level electrical stimulation has been shown in animal clinical studies to improve regeneration of axons and is currently being tested in human patients. Neural growth factors, neural “glues”, and various types of transplants are also at various stages.

Currently, NIH funding for spinal cord injury is running about $93 million a year. This compares to an estimated $14 billion per year total direct costs in the US. When you add in lost income (these are typically young adults) the cost of spinal cord injury is over $20 billion each year.

Christopher Reeves worked hard to increase funding for all types of research in spinal cord injury, and he was very successful in this. It would be a pity if we went backwards after his death because of politics.