misunderestimation

Very exciting news today regarding a new source for Stem cells:

Stem cell researchers reacted with enthusiasm and reservations to a report that scientists have found stem cells in amniotic fluid, a discovery that would allow them to sidestep the controversy over destroying embryos for research.

Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported Sunday that the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells.

They reported they were able to extract the stem cells from the fluid, which cushions babies in the womb, without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone.

Basically, Stem cells can be used to generate other types of cells and may have a tremendous impact on the way we treat injuries and even disease. Until now, the primary source of Stem cells has been human fetuses and “harvesting” those cells is not without moral and ethical peril.

So, we have a new source that is not politically-charged. Will it be the answer? They are not sure yet:

However, it is not known how many different cell types can be made from the stem cells found in amniotic fluid, as opposed to stem cells taken from embryonic stem cells, which can turn into any of the more than 220 cell types that make up the human body.

Scientists are working to develop treatments using the cells to repair damaged organs in need of healthy cells, but many people, including President George W. Bush, oppose the destruction of embryos.

If this new source lives up to the billing, an entire new field is about to be created in the medical community, replacement parts.

Instapundit: If this pans out, it will be bad news for politicians, but good news for the rest of us.

Iowa Voice: This kind of research, I’m sure, would satisfy a number of people. It would satisfy the left, because research could then continue and be federally funded. It would satisfy the right, because our concern over the destruction of life is solved.

World Views: The jury’s still out on whether these newly discovered stem cells can generate as many tissue types as embryonic ones. Still, it makes my head spin to see how quickly the emphasis shifted (with this scientist anyway) from curing incurable and chronic diseases, to answering “questions about early human development,” when a new discovery raised the possibility of stopping research that destroys human potential.

Stem Cell Research Blog: The finding points to a promising avenue of research that sidesteps the hurdles facing embryonic stem cell research, which has been stymied by moral objections to the destruction of embryos that occurs when cells are harvested.

Lifelike Pundits: It’s funny. When science supports the conclusion that it is not necessary to destroy human organisms in the embryonic stage, it can only be interpreted as a loss for the Democrats. Why? Because the abortionists want to not only make abortion legal, but virtuous. This is some cold water:

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