Re: [asa] Ethical Considerations in Recent Nature Stem Cell Paper

So the question remains where do you draw the line? Where does life begin?
When does one become a person? When does a collection of cells become
something more than just that?

A blastomere comes into existence after fertilization so why would it have
made a difference?

How is harvisting cells from a blastomere morally any different than a
morula? How is it morally any different than a blastocyst?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rich Blinne" <rich.blinne@gmail.com>
To: "ASA list" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 3:51 PM
Subject: [asa] Ethical Considerations in Recent Nature Stem Cell Paper

>A recent paper in Nature
> (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7118/abs/nature05142.html
> ) caused quite a stir by claiming that embryonic stem cell lines could
> be created from a single blastomere obviating a need for an embryo
> being destroyed. It was later discovered that during the experiment
> embryos were indeed destroyed because they extracted multiple
> blastomeres from the embryo rather than one at a time. Nature just
> published a revised paper and an addendum to the report in their
> current print edition. Here's the result from addendum table number 1.
>
> Number of embryos used: 16
> Number of blastomeres retrieved: 91
> Number of blastomeres divided: 53
> Number of outgrowths:28
> Number of ES cell-like outgrowths: 19
> Number of ES stem cell lines: 2
>
> According to the addendum, the blastomeres were cultured in the same
> medium as the parent embryo. Diffusable factors from the other
> blastomeres may have increased the possibility of survival of the
> resultant ES lines. It appears the breathless press announcements of
> an ethical way of extracting embryonic stem cells may have been
> overstated.
>
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Received on Wed Nov 22 20:57:08 2006