This is truly interesting

[SeaCat]

This is an interesting article.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,756809,00.html

Cat

 

[TE999]

This is an interesting article.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,756809,00.html

Cat

That certainly is interesting. One day soon we'll have tissue, nerves, blood vessels, skin, organs and limbs grown to order. That'll be a boon to us old folks.

I also read how a government bureaucracy's throwing sand in the gears of progress...again. Figures.

 

[amicus]

Hello again, SeaCat, yes, an interesting article...in the event you are not a Heinlein fan, I might suggest, "Time Enough for Love", if memory serves, it has been many years since I read the book, but, 'rejuvenation', enabled a man to live 2500 years, so the progress of medical science to extend life and repair or replace aging organs is more than science fiction as time goes by...

The future is fascinating for one who speculates on the possible...

regards...

ami

 

[Boxlicker101]

That certainly is interesting. One day soon we'll have tissue, nerves, blood vessels, skin, organs and limbs grown to order. That'll be a boon to us old folks.

I also read how a government bureaucracy's throwing sand in the gears of progress...again. Figures.

I may be mistaken, but I believe some of the technology exists now, besides this article. However, it involves using stem cells, and certain religious nuts, and maybe gov. bureaucracies, are opposed to it because of that.

I doubt if us really old folk will be around long enough to benefit much from this research.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I dunno. I'm thinking we oughta euthanize people when their youngest child turns 18.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I dunno. I'm thinking we oughta euthanize people when their youngest child turns 18.

But that would eliminate grandparents, the greatest resource there is for children. Besides, how would you know it was the guy's last child?

 

[amicus]

I may be mistaken, but I believe some of the technology exists now, besides this article. However, it involves using stem cells, and certain religious nuts, and maybe gov. bureaucracies, are opposed to it because of that.

I doubt if us really old folk will be around long enough to benefit much from this research.[/QUOTE]

~~~
I would like to point out that stem cell research need not depend on aborted, viable embryo's, but can be harvested from many sources...politicizing an issue is a dead end.

We all benefit from medical research and innovation, I know I do, as non invasive surgery has made my journey possible and successful. But...with all medical research, a moral and ethical factor must, I repeat, must be a factor lest we lose all contact with the values of life.

Amicus Veritas

 

[TE999]

I doubt if us really old folk will be around long enough to benefit much from this research.

Maybe, but one can hope. Then there are the biomechanical organs and limbs being developed that might keep us alive and kicking a while longer.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

It depends on how old is old. Here's a Nova that forecasts custom grown organs up to and including hearts within ten years. Imagine, no more kidney failure, no more coronary problems--so long as we can figure out a way to defeat dementia those of us who keep active and reasonable fit will be really hard to get rid of. Of course, we can just leave JBJ out of the loop . . .

 

[Boxlicker101]

I may be mistaken, but I believe some of the technology exists now, besides this article. However, it involves using stem cells, and certain religious nuts, and maybe gov. bureaucracies, are opposed to it because of that.

I doubt if us really old folk will be around long enough to benefit much from this research.[/QUOTE]

~~~
I would like to point out that stem cell research need not depend on aborted, viable embryo's, but can be harvested from many sources...politicizing an issue is a dead end.

We all benefit from medical research and innovation, I know I do, as non invasive surgery has made my journey possible and successful. But...with all medical research, a moral and ethical factor must, I repeat, must be a factor lest we lose all contact with the values of life.

Amicus Veritas

I realize abortion is not the only source, and may not be the best one. It is also possible to take a donated egg, fertilize it with donated sperm and harvest the stem cells from the resulting zygote. However, there are those who will contend the zygote is a "living human being" even though the egg and sperm were donated by persons who do not even know each other and had no thought of producing an offspring.

VM, I believe Alzheimer's is one of the illnesses that might be curable with stem cells.

 

[R. Richard]

After much debate over the matter, there are scientists who can develop stem cells, other than from dead infants.

Now, if the scientists are able to grow new brains for transplant, maybe there's some hope for the politicians in Washington DC.

 

[Boxlicker101]

After much debate over the matter, there are scientists who can develop stem cells, other than from dead infants.

Now, if the scientists are able to grow new brains for transplant, maybe there's some hope for the politicians in Washington DC.

I think they lack ethics more than brains.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Soul transplants...

Nah. We're doomed.

 

[SeaCat]

This article was interesting to me on several levels. Not just because of the technology involved but because of the politics as well. (Yes there will always be politics of one kind or another in research like this.)

Technology:

The growing of the skin itself. What type of cells did they use for the initial seeding? Were they skin cells or were they Stem Cells?

Are these skin samples universally accepted or is there the possibility of the body rejecting them? If they have gotten around the bodies rejection of the new skin how did they do so? (From what I have read the human body will reject Stem Cells, even Fetal Stem Cells.)

Do the cells in these skin samples still have the ability to multiply outside of the lab? If so how do they control the cell division? Are they able to speed it up or slow it down?

Politics:

Again with the Stem Cells, if these are grown from Stem Cells. Are they grown from fetal or from Undifferentiated Adult?

If from Undifferentiated Adult Stem Cells how did they create them?

What Patents do they have on this? Are they on the process of creating the skin or on the skin itself?

These are just some of the questions the article raises in my mind. I feel that I'll be doing a lot more research on this but I'm afraid I won't be finding a lot of information.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Hello again, SeaCat, yes, an interesting article...in the event you are not a Heinlein fan, I might suggest, "Time Enough for Love", if memory serves, it has been many years since I read the book, but, 'rejuvenation', enabled a man to live 2500 years, so the progress of medical science to extend life and repair or replace aging organs is more than science fiction as time goes by...

The future is fascinating for one who speculates on the possible...

regards...

ami

Well hello Ami.

Yes I remember reading "Time enough for love". As a matter of fact it is sitting on one of my shelves along with all but one of his books. (Somehow my copy of "Starship Troopers" has vanished.)

If I recall that book correctly they did use the replacement of Organs as well as blood to lengthen the lives of non Howard Family members for a short time until they found other ways to do the life extension therapies.

Now as to this ever happening? I honestly don't think so. Not because it won't be able to be done in the future but because they won't be able to replace the one organ that will ultimately wear out. Namely the Human Brain.

As for the growing of tissues and/or organs. I think they will be able to do so in the future but they have to beat a couple of problems.

The first is growing tissues and organs that won't be rejected by the host body. There are two ways to do this. A) Grow the tissues or organs using the host bodies own cells, cloning in a way. B) Grow the tissues and/or organs using something akin to a universal donor tissue which wouldn't be rejected by any hosts body.

If they go with option A) then they will have to find some way to grow the tissues or organs rapidly enough to do any good, especialy in the cases of emergency. If they go with option B) then they would have to have organ banks of some kind where they would have the organs in storage waiting for use.

In either case they will have another problem to work around. This is the religious one, one we are seeing now with Fetal Stem Cell research. Basicaly there will be groups who will wish to stop man from playing God.

Other problems I see cropping up with this are of course Cost as well as Supply.

Obviously I see a lot of problems with the growing of organs but I personaly think these problems will be beaten. (Unfortunately I don't see them being beaten here in the United States because of our political climate.) I look forward to see it done as well as seeing how the problems are beaten.

Cat

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Cat, view the video. The problems you mention have already been addressed. These techniques have already been used to replace cancerous bladders and damaged aortas. By the time the Fundies decide to squawk about it, it will already be too late. Rejection is not a problem because the living cells are the patient's own. Loog ad der moovie!

 

[SeaCat]

Cat, view the video. The problems you mention have already been addressed. These techniques have already been used to replace cancerous bladders and damaged aortas. By the time the Fundies decide to squawk about it, it will already be too late. Rejection is not a problem because the living cells are the patient's own. Loog ad der moovie!

Thank you for the video Bear. I hadn't seen that one and it did address some of my questions.

Cat