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Exfoliating is murder

SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
edited March 2009 in Social Entropy++
Skin transformed into stem cells
Cell created by Japanese team
Japanese researchers created pluripotent cells

Human skin cells have been reprogrammed by two groups of scientists to mimic embryonic stem cells with the potential to become any tissue in the body.

The breakthrough promises a plentiful new source of cells for use in research into new treatments for many diseases.

Crucially, it could mean that such research is no longer dependent on using cells from human embryos, which has proved highly controversial.

The US and Japanese studies feature in the journals Science and Cell.


"The induced cells do all the things embryonic stem cells do - its going to completely change the field"
Professor James Thomson
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Until now only cells taken from embryos were thought to have an unlimited capacity to become any of the 220 types of cell in the human body - a so-called pluripotent state.

But campaigners have objected to their use on the grounds that it is unethical to destroy embryos in the name of science.

In the US only limited use of embryonic stem cells is allowed by scientists receiving public funding.

The Japanese team used a chemical cocktail containing just four gene-controlling proteins to transform adult human fibroblasts - skin cells that are easy to obtain and grow in culture - into a pluripotent state.


"For once we have better science coinciding with better ethics"
Josephine Quintavalle
Comment on Reproductive Ethics

The cells created were similar, but not identical, to embryonic stem cells, and the researchers used them to produce brain and heart tissue.

After 12 days in the laboratory clumps of cells grown to mimic heart muscle tissue started beating.

The US team, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, achieved the same effect by using a slightly different combination of chemicals.

They have created eight new stem cell lines for potential use in research.

Cloning superceded

Using skin cells should mean that treatments could be personalised for individual patients, minimising the risk of rejection.


"Although it is early days for this technique it may well prove to be every bit as significant as the first derivation of human embryonic stem cells nine years ago"
Dr Lyle Armstrong
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne

Not only does the new technique remove the need to create embryos in the lab, it is also more simple, and more precisely controlled than current cloning technology.

Professor Ian Wilmut, of the University of Edinburgh, who led the team which created Dolly the sheep in 1996, has said it represents a significant advance.

However, the researchers have warned more work is needed to refine the process, and ensure its safety.

At present both techniques rely on viruses to introduce new material into the cells, which carries a potential risk of contamination.

Researcher Professor James Thomson said: "The induced cells do all the things embryonic stem cells do.

"It's going to completely change the field."

Dr Shinya Yamanaka, of Kyoto University, a member of the Japanese research team, said: "These cells should be extremely useful in understanding disease mechanisms and screening effective and safe drugs."

Positive reaction

Professor Azim Surani, of the University of Cambridge, said the research should allow scientists to create a large range of human stem cell types, which could prove invaluable in studying disease.

He said: "It is relatively easy to grow an entire plant from a small cutting, something that seems inconceivable in humans.

"Yet this study brings us tantalisingly close to using skin cells to grow many different types of human tissues.

Dr Lyle Armstrong, of the International Centre For Life at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, called the studies a "major development".

He said: "Although it is early days for this technique it may well prove to be every bit as significant as the first derivation of human embryonic stem cells nine years ago."

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, of the Medical Research Council's National Institute For Medical Research, said the work was exciting, but work was required to end the reliance on viruses, and to tease out why two different techniques produced similar results.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: "News that embryonic stem cells can be created successfully from human cells without cloning, without using human embryos or human eggs, or without getting involved in the creation of animal-human embryos, is most warmly welcomed.

"We congratulate these world-class scientists who have had the courage to state their change of tack so cogently.

"For once we have better science coinciding with better ethics."

TECHNIQUES FOR MAKING 'STEM CELLS'
  • Therapeutic cloning produces stem cells which can develop into different types of body cell, making them ideal for research into treatment of disease.
  • But this technology involves the creation and destruction of embryos, which is ethically controversial. The stem cells created also run the risk of being rejected by the body.
  • The new technology, nuclear reprogramming, creates stem-like cells from the patient's own cells, avoiding both these problems.


Bullshit

If skin cells can be converted into stem cells then they have "the potential for life" ergo exfoliating is now murder. Good going science, now we all have to have shitty skin and it's all your fault.

Szechuanosaurus on
«13

Posts

  • skinny87skinny87 Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Bullshit

    If skin cells can be converted into stem cells then they have "the potential for life" ergo exfoliating is now murder. Good going science, now we all have to have shitty skin and it's all your fault.

    Man, exfoliating is for girls.

    skinny87 on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    skinny87 wrote: »
    Bullshit

    If skin cells can be converted into stem cells then they have "the potential for life" ergo exfoliating is now murder. Good going science, now we all have to have shitty skin and it's all your fault.

    Man, exfoliating is for girls.

    Murderous girls.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • BearstranautBearstranaut Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I'm trying to find a way everyone can be arrested as murderers simply for being alive.

    Bearstranaut on
    You ever try and draw Falcor as a giant dong? No? It just ends up looking like a long cyclops.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    "For once we have better science coinciding with better ethics."

    I hate idiots like this bitch.

    DarkPrimus on
  • Volucrisus AedriusVolucrisus Aedrius Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Science and Ethics don't go hand in hand, collusion between those two is blasphemy, the type of ridiculous shit we all saw happen when Dr. Zaius was revealed to be not only the head of science but also the head of theology! Science should punch Ethics in its namby-pamby twinkle-toed ballsack, as it did in the 1950s back when the best scientists were all a bunch of German ex-pats working under close supervision of the CIA.

    Volucrisus Aedrius on
  • Shifty FisterShifty Fister Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    What's the dating on this article? I'm sure I've read about this before, where they were using viruses to implant the proteins. Although maybe it wasn't referring to skin cells.

    Shifty Fister on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Oh shit! I forgot to link my source! Thank fuck this isn't D&D.

    It is probably pretty old, it was on BBC news this morning and they are always at least a year behind science journals. Plus, they were talking about it because the Dolly the Sheep guy has jumped on the bandwagon and I think these Japanese dudes were doing it for a while already. Hang on.

    Original articles, Nov 2007

    UK/Cananda LTTP by 17 months

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Heh. The new article is basically an abridge version of the old article. Way to recycle, BBC.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Science and Ethics don't go hand in hand, collusion between those two is blasphemy, the type of ridiculous shit we all saw happen when Dr. Zaius was revealed to be not only the head of science but also the head of theology! Science should punch Ethics in its namby-pamby twinkle-toed ballsack, as it did in the 1950s back when the best scientists were all a bunch of German ex-pats working under close supervision of the CIA.


    Don't forget the Russian scientists we helped escape the Soviet system. They helped too, not just the krauts.

    Hunter on
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Okay okay, so - what I am getting out of this is they have found a way to induce normal skin cells to become any other kind of cell? All I need to know now is how far I am from acquiring a Green Lantern hand that can transform into any object.

    Edit: Okay so, I just realized that I'm limited to human cell structures. You can call me Mme. Lunghand.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    If you want ethics-free science, you really need to talk to the good people from Unit 731.

    Those guys knew how to get their abomination on.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • HunterHunter Chemist with a heart of Au Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    We need to fund the sex robot or holographic entertainment system for fun and sex. Chop chop.

    Hunter on
  • The Otaku SuppositoryThe Otaku Suppository Bawstan New EnglandRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Man I've been throwing up the exfoliating is murder arguement against the pro-lifers for years. NOW WHAT BITCHES? You call people baby killers when each and every one of you are mass murderers.

    The Otaku Suppository on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Okay okay, so - what I am getting out of this is they have found a way to induce normal skin cells to become any other kind of cell? All I need to know now is how far I am from acquiring a Green Lantern hand that can transform into any object.

    Edit: Okay so, I just realized that I'm limited to human cell structures. You can call me Mme. Lunghand.

    You can turn your hand into any object, so long as it is another part of the human anatomy.

    Obscenity ensues.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • Vann DirasVann Diras Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I can't quite decide what's going on in this thread

    Vann Diras on
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Vann Diras wrote: »
    I can't quite decide what's going on in this thread

    It's only on page 1. Give it time to bed in and find itself.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    But I would become veerry popular in some circles!

    The only problem will be controlling the ability. No one wants a hand full o' wangs or boobs or something when they're at a job interview.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    But I would become veerry popular in some circles!

    The only problem will be controlling the ability. No one wants a hand full o' wangs or boobs or something when they're at a job interview.

    I dunno, that might not necessarily work to your disadvantage...

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • BearstranautBearstranaut Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    "and this is my colleague dr. dickface boobhands..."

    Bearstranaut on
    You ever try and draw Falcor as a giant dong? No? It just ends up looking like a long cyclops.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    It doesn't say Ethics on my arm now, does it?

    Mysst on
    ikbUJdU.jpg
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Ahahaha, how will I ever live up to this potential? If I can't get me a magic pluripotent hand I will be always and forever disappointed.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Ahahaha, how will I ever live up to this potential? If I can't get me a magic pluripotent hand I will be always and forever disappointed.

    Break into a research lab and fall into a big vat of embryos, Obelix-style.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • DeaconBluesDeaconBlues __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2009
    Man I've been throwing up the exfoliating is murder arguement against the pro-lifers for years. NOW WHAT BITCHES? You call people baby killers when each and every one of you are mass murderers.

    Hey, stupid.

    The objection isn't that stem cells are people, but that they come from embryos.

    Now that they can be made out of normal cells, we can bring Christopher Reeve back to life and cure CF or whatever retarded tag line is being used these days.

    DeaconBlues on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Why is using embryos wrong, Deacon?

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Googling "Getafix Laboratory" didn't get me anywhere.

    I'm just going to go trolling for embryo vats downtown. Dr. Dickface Boobhands, here I come! (I like this name because it also implies that I have gotten my doctorate.)

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • KajustaKajusta Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Man I've been throwing up the exfoliating is murder arguement against the pro-lifers for years. NOW WHAT BITCHES? You call people baby killers when each and every one of you are mass murderers.

    Hey, stupid.

    The objection isn't that stem cells are people, but that they come from embryos.

    Now that they can be made out of normal cells, we can bring Christopher Reeve back to life and cure CF or whatever retarded tag line is being used these days.

    I don't see how you could object to something lifesaving coming from an embryo unless you thought it was somehow harming a human life.

    Kajusta on
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    XBL
  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    but we could have done that before and kept the population growth down

    Mysst on
    ikbUJdU.jpg
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Googling "Getafix Laboratory" didn't get me anywhere.

    I'm just going to go trolling for embryo vats downtown. Dr. Dickface Boobhands, here I come! (I like this name because it also implies that I have gotten my doctorate.)

    Nobody is really going to question the Dr. when your first and second name raise so much more interesting questions anyway.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • DeaconBluesDeaconBlues __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2009
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Man I've been throwing up the exfoliating is murder arguement against the pro-lifers for years. NOW WHAT BITCHES? You call people baby killers when each and every one of you are mass murderers.

    Hey, stupid.

    The objection isn't that stem cells are people, but that they come from embryos.

    Now that they can be made out of normal cells, we can bring Christopher Reeve back to life and cure CF or whatever retarded tag line is being used these days.

    I don't see how you could object to something lifesaving coming from an embryo unless you thought it was somehow harming a human life.

    I guess you could make a consent argument - we can't harvest organs, marrow, etc from dead people without their consent - which embryos are unable to provide.

    DeaconBlues on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    But it's inarguable that dead people once had sentience, and, if you go in for that sort of thing, possessed a soul. With embryos it's much iffier. If you go for the "at the moment of conception" argument, you will probably have a problem with unconsenting embryonic cells being harvested. However, if you don't believe that embryos are just tiny people with tiny thoughts, you won't have as many moral compunctions with harvesting their cells. I am trying to phrase this in a tactful way and may have failed.

    For me personally, I think that requiring a dead person's consent to harvest their organs is superfluous. Needing the consent of the surviving family members makes more sense to me.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Man I've been throwing up the exfoliating is murder arguement against the pro-lifers for years. NOW WHAT BITCHES? You call people baby killers when each and every one of you are mass murderers.

    Hey, stupid.

    The objection isn't that stem cells are people, but that they come from embryos.

    Now that they can be made out of normal cells, we can bring Christopher Reeve back to life and cure CF or whatever retarded tag line is being used these days.

    I don't see how you could object to something lifesaving coming from an embryo unless you thought it was somehow harming a human life.

    I guess you could make a consent argument - we can't harvest organs, marrow, etc from dead people without their consent - which embryos are unable to provide.

    That's easily the worst argument I've ever heard.

    For anything.

    Seriously. 'Harvesting embryos is wrong just because ok?!?' would have been a better argument.

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    really I don't see why we can't take parts from dead people too but y'know, whatever

    Mysst on
    ikbUJdU.jpg
  • DichotomyDichotomy Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Mysst wrote: »
    really I don't see why we can't take parts from dead people too but y'know, whatever

    it's not like they're gonna use 'em

    Dichotomy on
    0BnD8l3.gif
  • KajustaKajusta Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    BECAUSE WE NEED THEIR CONSENT THAT THEY CAN'T GIVE GUYS

    DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND

    Kajusta on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    XBL
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    That's what I'm saying, they don't need 'em anymore.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
  • SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    Mysst wrote: »
    really I don't see why we can't take parts from dead people too but y'know, whatever

    They are trying to make organ donations an opt out scheme in the UK. As in, if you don't want your organs harvested when you die you specifically have to make the effort to let people know, otherwise yoink!

    I'm all for it, personally. Why not?

    Szechuanosaurus on
  • tsplittertsplitter Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    When I die, I want someone to use my pelvis as a hat.

    tsplitter on
    FqmsaJ6.png
  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    some lucky bald kid is gonna get my hair when I die

    Mysst on
    ikbUJdU.jpg
  • DeaconBluesDeaconBlues __BANNED USERS regular
    edited March 2009
    But it's inarguable that dead people once had sentience, and, if you go in for that sort of thing, possessed a soul. With embryos it's much iffier. If you go for the "at the moment of conception" argument, you will probably have a problem with unconsenting embryonic cells being harvested. However, if you don't believe that embryos are just tiny people with tiny thoughts, you won't have as many moral compunctions with harvesting their cells. I am trying to phrase this in a tactful way and may have failed.

    Yeah that seems like a reasonable summary.

    It's a moot point anyway, now science can go solve all those diseases and make people in wheelchairs walk without religion standing in the way.

    DeaconBlues on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Lost SalientLost Salient blink twice if you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    In that case I am going to ask that my skin be made into a coat after I die, and given to a freezing orphan.

    Lost Salient on
    RUVCwyu.jpg
    "Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
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