Take the stem cell quiz. Impress your friends! Embarrass those who think they are smarter than you! (One caveat: The test blurs the distinction between Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer when discussing the egg issue. Hit the teacher's knuckles with a ruler!)
MAJOR STEM CELL NEWS! VICTORY FOR PRO-LIFE!
Researchers: We Can Make Embryonic Stem Cells Without Destroying Life
Two teams of scientists released studies in the medical journals Science and Cell saying they have devised a new process that allows for embryonic stem cell research without the destruction of human life. The process is called direct reprogramming, which causes adult stem cells to revert to their embryonic form. The newly-produced embryonic stem cells are called “iPS cells.”
One of the most encouraging parts of this news is that the process can be replicated easily. James Thompson, one of the scientists who discovered the process, was quote in the Associated Press saying, “People didn’t know it would be this easy. Thousands of labs in the United States can do this, basically tomorrow.”
Just like previous embryonic stem cell research, this new research doesn’t come without hurdles. For example, the iPS cells cause tumors in some of the mice that have been tested with the new process, one of the main problems stem cell researchers have had with using embryonic stem cells. More research needs to be done to figure out how to get over this hurdle before humans can be treated with the process. Luckily, the biggest hurdle for embryonic stem cell research is solved by using the new process: the ethical problem. Many Americans know that the ends don’t justify the means, and that it is never right to kill someone, no matter how small, for their body parts. Click here to read more.
Adult Stem Cell Downloadable Video
“Adult Stem Cell Research: Making a Difference Today” is a 19-minute video which explains stem cell research using four human interest stories. This video would be a great opener for a Sunday School Class, Bible Study, or meeting on current events. Unfortunately, stem cell research is grossly misrepresented in the media, but this video is an excellent educational piece and will aid people when hearing about stem cell research or talking with others about this important topic. To download the video, click here.
Many people misunderstand the issues involved with stem cell research, often
because the liberal media often grossly misreports the facts. Want the truth? Read on.
Stem cells, put simply, are the building blocks of
life. When you were conceived, your body was entirely made up of stem
cells. Stem cells can replicate indefinitely, and can become any type of cells,
like brain cells, heart cells, muscle cells, and skin cells. Did you ever wonder
how your body grew from seemingly nothing? The answer is in the miracle of stem
cells.
Stem cell research is based on the idea
that if you inject stem cells into a part of the body that is unhealthy, or
broken, they may be able to repair it. Amazingly, it works.
The media - and indeed, much of the public - have
come to the conclusion that pro-life forces are against stem cell research,
period. This is absolutely false! We are only against the types of research that
takehuman life.
Absolutely! This is the most important information
about stem cell research that you must master if you are going to talk about
this issue. There are two types of stem cell research: Embryonic SCR, and Adult
SCR. So let’s learn about the differences…
Embryonic Stem Cell Research: The major
differences in the 2 types of stem cell research are where the stem cells are
obtained. With embryonic stem cell research, the stem cells are taken from
three sources:
Aborted
fetal tissue.
Abortion clinics make a lot of money by selling body parts of the babies
they abort, to medical research facilities and universities. One of the
uses for these human body parts (is harvesting) the stem cells.
Human
embryos
are cloned, and allowed to grow until they are between 7-15 days old. Then
a doctor cuts the baby down the middle, and uses a syringe to extract the
stem cells. This always kills the living embryo.
Leftovers
from in-vitro fertilization. The
vast majority of couples using in- vitro
fertilization to have a baby create excess embryos, to improve the chances
of one of them implanting. The excess embryos are frozen, and about half
of them can survive the thawing process. Typically, couples don’t end up
using these, so they either remain frozen, are adopted by someone else, or
are killed for embryonic stem cell research.
Adult Stem Cell Research: Adult stem cell research utilizes stem cells from
your body. Most people don’t realize that there are still stem cells in your
body right now! The good
thing about adult stem cell transplants is that your
body is much
less likely to reject them, than if someone else’s stem cells
are injected into your body. According to the National Institutes of Health,
there are currently 12 places in your body where stem cells can be taken and
used to cure diseases. You can also get stem cells from placental and
umbilical cord cells. When a baby is born, the placenta and umbilical cord are
usuallythrown away as medical waste, but they
are packed with stem cells that can be used for research. You can contact an
organization in Atlanta
called Babies For Life at www.babiesforlife.org and arrange to donate your
babies’ placenta and umbilical cord, and they will freeze the stem cells for
research.
Embryonic SCR:
So far, there have been 0 cures found from ESCR. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. In
fact, there have been so few results from embryonic stem cell research that
money from private investors is diminishing. That is because embryonic stem
cell research is the worst investment ever made. But embryonic stem cells can
become anything we want, right? What’s the deal? One of the problems with
embryonic stem cell research is that embryonic stem cells are too powerful for
us to control yet. Sometimes they become the cells that they are engineered to
become, and sometimes they don’t. This has even resulted in a man’s death
in China.
Adult
SCR: Adult stem cell research has had the opposite impact. It has cured
patients with 72 different diseases so far! In fact, the British Medical
Journal said last year that the need for fetal cells as a source of stem cells
for medical research may soon be eclipsed by the more readily available and
less controversial adult stem cells.”
The list is continually growing. Click
here for the most recent list. It includes spinal cord injuries, blindness,
Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and leukemia.
The polls may say this, but the results are
deceiving. The results of a poll depends on the questions being asked, and these
polls didn’t ask the right questions. Instead of asking, “Do you think we
should support research that could cure diabetes,” we should be asking “Do
you support your tax dollars being used for medical research that would kill
early human embryos?” This was recently done by International Communications
Research, and their results were significant: 70% oppose embryonic stem cell
research, when they understand what it really is.
If you need some more specific information about Embryo Experimentation/Cloning or other life issues, please e-mail us at education@grtl.org.
The polls may say this, but the results are
deceiving. The results of a poll depends on the questions being asked, and these
polls didn’t ask the right questions. Instead of asking, “Do you think we
should support research that could cure diabetes,” we should be asking “Do
you support your tax dollars being used for medical research that would kill
early human embryos?” This was recently done by International Communications
Research, and their results were significant: 70% oppose embryonic stem cell
research, when they understand what it really is.