h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think it's vital to make someone as confortable as possible when they have such an illness, especially at the end. So many of us have seen what happens at that time.

Just hope that by the time it's "my turn" there'll have been sufficient research to have found something that if it doesn't cure it, at least holds off the symptoms and stops it's progression so you can get on with your life.

My thoughts and feeling are different.

I beileve that every week (becuase these expiraments they're doing on embryos) that the scienentist are killing thousands of millions of lives...


God bless
Poppy

I don't agree with embryo experiments. Though I'm not sure if there's a difference betwen taking stem cells from a new embryo and taking them from the actual person in terms of creating a new life. Don't think we should be creating lives to harvest stuff from them then get rid of them, but if the stem cells can be got without creating the embryo at all that's totally different.

Stem cells can alos be found in Bone marrow of a adult and also in a baby's nonbillacle cord.... I cant spell!

the stem cells can be found in other places... so why are they creating life then dystoring it?? please somone tell mke

Good point. You'd think that since we already carry stem cells it'd make srense to use them instead. Though I think I heard that adults stem cells aren't as useful as newly created ones. Though surely there's still a lot they can do.

Far as I know, adult stem cells aren't as useful cos they can be differentiated as readily into as many different types of cells but umbilical stem cells are equally useful.

Which makes me wonder why umbilical cords aren't retained as a matter of course after birth. I remember reading ages ago about a couple who had lost a high court bid to make the hospital where the child was born hold onto the cord in case the cells were needed when the child was older. Madness!

Though how long have they known about stem cells? Chances are not too many people could have umbilical stem cells kept, coz the science hasn't been about long enough. So no one older than a toddler could have had some frozen.

They had the technology in the US at the time and everyone was well aware of the huge advances and benefits associated with stem cells but the hospital said they couldn't afford it. The parents said they were willing to pay for it but no dice! To this day I can't figure out why!

And I thought in the US everyone paid for health care anyway, so it'd be ok for parents to pay?

Sorry, I wasn't 100% clear, these guys were in the UK but the technology was in regular use in the US, apprently all it takes is that you cryogenically freeze the cord, like you would with embryos in IVF. The hospital in the UK didn't dispute that it could do it, it just decided that they didn't have the funds or storage. The parents had gone to the bother of finding somewhere willing to store it and were willing to stump up the cash but the hospital still refused on the grounds that if they let one person do it, everyone would want to. To which I would say, so?

Ah! Makes sense. Sorry for reading you wrong.

You'd think though that since it was already being done elsewhere, that the science had shown this to be useful, the parents were prepared to pay, etc, they could get a warehouse with a huge freezer in it, some tupperware, sticky labels and a markler pen or whatever to do it.

Not everyone would want to or be able to afford it, so it's not like they'd need half of London for storage or anything. And I'm guessing the amount of umbilical chord isn't gonna be enormous either. you don't get a tonne of it from every birth.

I have an idea!!!
I know that unbillacle cord (still can't spell...sorry) has useful cells and that some people have a hard time keeping them... but wouldn't be better to take the cells of the cord form every new baby born and freezing them to do expiraments on instead. because we have in the uk (i think) a baby born every like 10 seconds...or is that the world...still the marturnity wards always seem so busy! why create life to destroy it when the cells can found in different places which is also not killing everyone!


Poppy
God bless

Well we do have alot of new babies about. Sounds like a good idea if the kid's already been born and you're just taking a few cells. Though some parents might get scared incase their kid gets cloned or something bonkers. Would need the obvious explaining and parental consent, but not a bad idea.