Thread: Stem Cell Research

Indeed....

now on a related subject.....do you think it is possible, with the somatic cell nuclear transfer....I could create a baby with, say, Giselle Bundchen if I get a hold of some of her somatic cells? Grab an egg from some woman, a somatic cell nucleus from Giselle Bundchen, my priceless spermatozoa and voila...a super kid.

We don't have to go into detail from the moral point of view...I'm just wondering if it would be technically possible to do.

Anyways....I'm more interested in what stem cell research can do for alzheimer's, parkinson's, brain damage and spinal cord damaged patients than living forever...although...I believe that theory is feasible.

Sorry to hear that, Bruce. Yea I support stem cell research as well...adult, umbilical cord, embryonic. The benefits from it are endless.

Originally Posted by Xavsnipe

Indeed....

now on a related subject.....do you think it is possible, with the somatic cell nuclear transfer....I could create a baby with, say, Giselle Bundchen if I get a hold of some of her somatic cells? Grab an egg from some woman, a somatic cell nucleus from Giselle Bundchen, my priceless spermatozoa and voila...a super kid.

We don't have to go into detail from the moral point of view...I'm just wondering if it would be technically possible to do.

Anyways....I'm more interested in what stem cell research can do for alzheimer's, parkinson's, brain damage and spinal cord damaged patients than living forever...although...I believe that theory is feasible.

all of the stuff above is currently possible. somatic cell cloning has been done on pretty much every mammal on the planet....likely including humans (though no one has admitted it yet, except that crazy cult in the carribean a few years ago).

It's legit.

As for healing spinal cord injuries, alzheimers, etc.....for some things, perhaps it would delay the onset. And so long as you have more cells to infuse....delay it indefinitely until you die of something else. Cord repair...like other wound repair...I bet could be enhanced...but cords aren't like skin, or other less structured tissues (liver, etc). That cord formed "in the beginning", and was a basis for most other things forming around it during gestation. So....you can't just sprinkle some magic dust on a broken one, and expect it to grow back.

Maybe SOMETHING will grow back...and maybe, just maybe, it will conduct nerve impulses. And maybe, just maybe, with physical therpay, your brain will relearn what those impulses mean, just like a baby does when it figures out how to see, and hear, and walk, and talk. Like people recovering from strokes, etc.

Maybe. But structured tissue repair like that.....that would be like saying you could rub stem cells on a burn victim's face and it would regrow their face. It will help their skin (and not rubbing on it, but perhaps infusing into the blood, local perfusions, etc) regrow/cover/heal....but it's not going to regrow their face as it was. Nerves, limbs, anything with a distinct 3D structure (and most organs are) will have this limitation.

Some of the axons (nerves) in your spinal tract run from your foot to your brainstem. Replacing any sort of long nerve axon is beyond our technology currently (as BD said, I am just verifying ) for a number of reasons besides the fact that stem cells just can't do that yet. There were some experiments done were they actually grew new brain matter (interneurons of the central nervous system are much smaller than the neurons in your spinal tract) but the problem with that is learning. Children have critical periods where certain types of development must occur, neurologically speaking (syntax, vision, audition, etc) and if we could grow someone a new mass of brain to replace their missing brain parts, it has to learn all that information over again, but because you are an adult, that does not happen easily, or at all, with certain functions.

I support this technology though, it will yield what I need to copy my brain to my clones someday.

yea, but actually, research done with spinal cord injuries have produced positive results in the regeneration of these nerves that were severed by the scar on the spinal chord with the use of stem cells within an "extracellular matrix gel" injected into the area. The method hasn't been perfected, but it did produce some regeneration and growth of the nerves on the spinal cord.

And I don't know if I'm mistaken, but the only part that needs to be regenerated is the severed part of the axons, and not the entire axon itself. Is that logical?

You sir just inspired me to read about a topic I have not for a few years (specifically spinal cords and stem cells)and I will now eat some of my words It looks like there were some breakthroughs about a year ago... It looks like (I am reading from my schools journal database so no links... sorry) the scar tissue that forms quickly in the spine is the problem.

We cannot simply reconnect axons... when the axons are severed from the soma they die because they can no longer support themselves below the segment adjacent to the nucleus and all those other cell parts it needs to sustain itself (although long axons do contain mitochondria so they can continue to produce energy for awhile but still will not conduct action potentials and thus cannot fire).

Apparently, a stem cell therapy has shown new axonal growth in rats with degenerated spinal cords. But in most spinal cord injury, the scar tissue inhibits the regeneration of axons so we have to inject other supporting cells (glia) in there with it. But the Dr. who figured this stuff out says it will really only help those who have just been injured because the scar tissue poses a big problem in chronic spinal cord injury patients for this technique. Although the FDA still has yet to approve it regardless...

I fully support stem cell research. Both of my kids have umbilical cord stem cells in storage for future use. We pay them every 10 years to keep them.

Good Stuff...

In other words, stem cell treatment on fresh spinal chord injuries will have much more positive results than old ones...pretty logical.

Yea, that experiment you read about was probably done by Dr. Jack Kessler (Northwestern)