Sofa King
11-11-2000, 01:58 AM
Biological science appears to be converging to a point where two very... interesting things may complement each other.
Stem cells might be able to be used to repair old and damaged tissue. From what I understand (which is about as deep as reading the picture captions in Discover), they may be able to regenerate entire organs someday. But they're mighty hard to come by in a human adult. Ideally, you would want new, identically matched genetic material from which to create your replacement cells.
And then there's the prospect of... human cloning.
It would appear to me that the possibility of cloning--and partially gestating--a human fetus is well within the boundaries of current science. A series of cloned embryos from a single human subject, in various stages of development [grabs crotch], might be sytematically developed and preserved [bites hand] for the purpose of harvesting the stem cells needed to reinvigorate those organs which regrettably eventually fail the human body. [twists embarrasedly away from audience, bites gloved hand] Ze possibilities are endless, really, from the regeneration of damaged organs to the preservation of an individual's life forever... Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!
First, would anyone like to clue me in to the post-Popular Science fallacies of this idea?
Second... well, there's that moral thing. Maybe we oughta start here.
Stem cells might be able to be used to repair old and damaged tissue. From what I understand (which is about as deep as reading the picture captions in Discover), they may be able to regenerate entire organs someday. But they're mighty hard to come by in a human adult. Ideally, you would want new, identically matched genetic material from which to create your replacement cells.
And then there's the prospect of... human cloning.
It would appear to me that the possibility of cloning--and partially gestating--a human fetus is well within the boundaries of current science. A series of cloned embryos from a single human subject, in various stages of development [grabs crotch], might be sytematically developed and preserved [bites hand] for the purpose of harvesting the stem cells needed to reinvigorate those organs which regrettably eventually fail the human body. [twists embarrasedly away from audience, bites gloved hand] Ze possibilities are endless, really, from the regeneration of damaged organs to the preservation of an individual's life forever... Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!
First, would anyone like to clue me in to the post-Popular Science fallacies of this idea?
Second... well, there's that moral thing. Maybe we oughta start here.