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

Just to expand the context for your questions a bit further (but not
changing the issue), fertilization of the ovum is not a necessary
precondition for cellular fission. Moreover, if the conditions are just
right, a sperm cell can be induced to begin the division process as
well. That brings into question any certainty that is based upon
conception in the conventional sense.

The flip side of this line of questioning might be to take a serious
look at the rather large natural attrition that accompanies the
reproductive process and the ovum and sperm generation/quality. There is
a great deal of loss of life potential prior to conception (especially
the sperm!), as well as after. In some ways, one might (?) even conclude
that the care provided in and through these human-involved processes is
good stewardship of an otherwise lossy natural process.

The life question itself gets a little muddy as well with the prion
propensity to reproduce itself, though not alive even in comparison to a
virus. Of course, the prion hypothesis is a tad muddy in itself at this
stage of its investigation.

Just thinking out loud........

JimA

jack syme wrote:

> 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 21:49:09 2006