Title: Stem cell research. How were stem cells found? Post by: CarbonRobot on Mar 25, 2023 Was stem cell research ever really controversial? Weren't stem cells gathered from afterbirths before Yamanaka factors allowed creating them from mature cells?
Title: Re: Stem cell research. How were stem cells found? Post by: bio_man on Mar 25, 2023 Quote Was stem cell research ever really controversial? Certainly controversial if the source of the stem cells were coming from aborted fetuses -- personally, I find it despicable. But when collected after birth, stem cells are controversy free for most people, including myself. I know that Yamanaka factors are a set of genes that have the capability of turning somatic cell into pluripotent stem cell, but I'm not sure how effective they are in comparison to stem cells. Based on the article I referenced below, it seems Yamanaka induced cells are generally less effective. Advantages and limitations of iPSCs technology.
Title: Re: Stem cell research. How were stem cells found? Post by: CarbonRobot on Mar 25, 2023 Stems cells aren't attained from the afterbirth? Only aborted fetuses? Even if only fetuses, where is the controversy if the abortion was going to happen regardless?
Title: Re: Stem cell research. How were stem cells found? Post by: bio_man on Mar 25, 2023 Quote Stems cells aren't attained from the afterbirth? Certainly, my post didn't suggest otherwise I hope. Collecting the remains of a fetus is unethical for a number of reasons. I will share a few that come to mind. Abortion clinics (or those in the pharmaceutical industry) may do everything in their power to incentivize abortions for the purpose of collecting more stem cells for research purposes. Given that pharmaceutical industry makes up a larger portion of the USA's GDP, they have a major influence to lobby for laws that promote abortions (interestingly, a lot of that is cloaked under "advancing women's rights", when in actuality only harms women and society in the long run). Thus, if more abortions are performed, this will lead to more stem cells collected, which leads to more research, and this ultimately leads to more profits for the pharmaceutical industry. The same can be said about the doctors who are performing the operation; rather than having an honest conversation with the patient regarding the outcome, they may quickly convince the soon-to-be-mother to have the abortion so that the remains can be sold to the highest bidder. Furthermore, Christianity makes up 1/7 of the world's population, and more than 60% of American; most Christians believe that human life is sacred, even if its only a few hundred cells large. Profiting from the remains of a murdered human sets a very low precedence to the importance of human life. Where I live, people are given the option to have their organs donated when they die (they may respectfully choose not to); that same dignity should be universal to all humans, including the unborn. |