Shotgun 1 #1 October 26, 2005 South Korea's Catholic Church, funding adult stem cell research, that is... but I thought this was interesting: QuoteSEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's Roman Catholic Church plans to fund research here into deriving stem cells from adults rather than human embryos, church officials said. The Seoul Archdiocese has set up a 10 billion won (9.6 million dollars) fund for the research, they said. South Korea has pioneered embryonic stem-cell research with Hwang Woo-Suk, a Seoul National University professor, cloning the world's first human embryos last year for stem-cell therapy. Stem cells are nascent cells which can develop into replacement cells that researchers believe could help treat damaged organs and illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. But religious groups, including the Catholic Church, oppose embryonic stem-cell research, citing ethical problems. They insist embryos should be treated as humans. Instead of embryos, stem cells can be derived from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow and other body parts, they say. Yeom Su-Jeong, a Seoul Archdiocese bishop in charge of a committee supervising the fund, said stem cell research and the Church can be ethically compatible. "We established the committee to encourage and support adult stem cell research which can help patients with incurable diseases essentially in line with the Catholic creeds," Yeom said in a statement. Hwang's research team announced in February 2004 it had cloned for the first time human embryos, from which they harvested embryonic stem cells. In follow-up research, Hwang's team announced in May 2005 it had developed the first lines of patient-specific embryonic stem cells, designed to give a precise DNA match for their patients. (I'm pretty sure that the Church doesn't support Hwang Woo-Suk's work that is mentioned in this article though, seeing as he just opened up a bank to supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for research.) Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20051006/sc_afp/healthstemcellsskorea_051006174038 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #2 October 27, 2005 It's a start. While adult stem cells don't offer the same promise that embryonic stem cells do, sometimes a foot in the door is a door that's partially open instead of all the way closed. Many people with strong opinions about stem cell research are not informed enough to know what they're talking about, imho. linz-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinker 0 #3 October 27, 2005 QuoteIt's a start. While adult stem cells don't offer the same promise that embryonic stem cells do, sometimes a foot in the door is a door that's partially open instead of all the way closed. Many people with strong opinions about stem cell research are not informed enough to know what they're talking about, imho. linz adult stem cells are more promising than people think. -the artist formerly known as sinker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #4 October 27, 2005 shit I',m a biologist. we're already doing stuff with cells derived from umbilical cords. I think it's cool. The Catholic church has some very strong, indomitable positions on some things re. stem cell reserach etc.. On the other hand, this is counteracted by a Catholic tradition of deep respect for science and intellectuals. The Catholic church gets slammed by different groups for BOTH positions. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinker 0 #5 October 27, 2005 Quoteshit I',m a biologist. we're already doing stuff with cells derived from umbilical cords. I think it's cool. The Catholic church has some very strong, indomitable positions on some things re. stem cell reserach etc.. On the other hand, this is counteracted by a Catholic tradition of deep respect for science and intellectuals. The Catholic church gets slammed by different groups for BOTH positions. the catholic position is not against stem cell research, as you say, umbilical cord stem cell research is ongoing and is very promising, as is adult stem cell research. in the modern media, these avenues have been practically ignored, while positing that only embryonic stem cell research is the responsible, viable thing to do. This is bull shit. -the artist formerly known as sinker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #6 October 27, 2005 yeah, well, all this stuff is all brand new. we're groping in the dark here. let's give it all a chance. science is difficult. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #7 October 27, 2005 QuoteI',m a biologist. we're already doing stuff with cells derived from umbilical cords. That is what I am writing a paper about at the moment... (Sounds like interesting work!) I just happened across this article about the church and thought it sounded like good news... Even though they oppose embryonic stem cell research (which is understandable, even though I don't necessarily agree), at least they are supporting something that might be an alternative. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ReBirth 0 #8 October 27, 2005 QuoteOn the other hand, this is counteracted by a Catholic tradition of deep respect for science and intellectuals. This was sarcastic, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
