2 ms·

Are there still laws in place that prohibit research using stem cells? That might not help

Someone1234 3y ago
Most of those only impact ESCs ("Embryonic") and not ASCs/iPSCs ("Adult"). There is plenty of research that can be conducted even in those places.
kingofthehill98 3y ago
Some highlights after reading the Wikipedia article on Stem cell controversy: - Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and Ireland do not allow the production of embryonic stem cell lines - The creation of embryonic stem cell lines is permitted in Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom - Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota and South Dakota have passed laws to "prohibit the creation or destruction of human embryos for medical research" - China has one of the most permissive human embryonic stem cell policies in the world. In the absence of a public controversy, human embryo stem cell research is supported by policies that allow the use of human embryos and therapeutic cloning. - The Catholic Church opposes human embryonic stem cell research calling it "an absolutely unacceptable act." The Church supports research that involves stem cells from adult tissues and the umbilical cord, as it "involves no harm to human beings at any state of development." - Islamic scholars generally favor the stance that scientific research and development of stem cells is allowed as long as it benefits society while causing the least amount of harm to the subjects.
- downrightmike 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - kolp 3y ago
    As an atheist, I would say that the opinions of these organisations do matter, insofar as they are likely to influence political opinion in the countries where they have significant followers.
    - downrightmike 3y ago
      Separation of church and state matters
  - esafak 3y ago
    It matters to people who live in Muslim-majority countries.
    - downrightmike 3y ago
      [flagged]
  - karencarits 3y ago
    Isn't it better to actually consider their arguments than dismissing them for being just who they are? Many of these people are extremely skilled in philosophy and ethics Although their arguments often are based on religious grounds that you may dismiss, you may also find that similar principles can be derived from humanistic traditions alone.
    - downrightmike 3y ago
      They get dismissed because they are toxic people and there is no value in dealing with them. They kill kids and entrap people and break them so they can keep exploiting people. Its a system of exploitation. If you're under 8yo, you can believe in Santa, but once you're old enough, you shouldn't believe in imaginary friends that someone else made up, especially if those imaginary friends are psychopaths.
- yieldcrv 3y ago
  my understanding is that embryos aren't the primary source of stem cells anymore and all of these jurisdictions are satisfied Miqu 70B Q4_K_M writes Embryonic stem cells are one of the main sources, but not the only ones. Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are 3-5 days old. These cells have the ability to develop into all cell types in the body. However, due to ethical concerns and the limited availability of human embryos, researchers have also developed methods to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to behave like an embryonic stem cell. They can be generated directly from adult tissues, such as skin or blood cells. Another source of stem cells is the umbilical cord blood and tissue, which is rich in hematopoietic stem cells. Adult (or somatic) stem cells are also present in various tissues in our body, such as bone marrow and fat. and here is a wiki and non-wiki source I found on iPSCs just in case the LLM made up an acronym. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3347549/#:~:text=Induced%20pluripotent%20stem%20cells%20(iPSCs,animal%20and%20human%20differentiated%20cells https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3347549/#:~:tex.... (this is how I do most of my queries these days)
dekhn 3y ago
California legalized stem cell research ~20 years ago, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/23/us/california-law-permits-stem-cell-research.html https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/23/us/california-law-permits... This led to CA being one of the world leaders (funny that a state can be a world leader, but that's CA in a nutshell) in stem cell research and applications. I worked in a few labs that did stem cell work and we got really attached to some of them. Like, "here's a microbrain I've been growing for 3 months", you start to empathize with them a bit.
ars 3y ago
The reason that whole controversy basically evaporated is that embryonic stem cells have so far been useless - anything you can do with them can also be done with adult stem cells. As far as I know there is no treatment, or even research that requires those cells vs adult ones. It also helps that there are embryonic cell lines available commercially, with no restrictions (in the US), for those who want to specifically study them and not adult ones. So to answer your question: No, the laws are not harming anything.

Most of those only impact ESCs ("Embryonic") and not ASCs/iPSCs ("Adult"). There is plenty of research that can be conducted even in those places.

kingofthehill98 3y ago

Some highlights after reading the Wikipedia article on Stem cell controversy: - Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and Ireland do not allow the production of embryonic stem cell lines - The creation of embryonic stem cell lines is permitted in Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom - Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota and South Dakota have passed laws to "prohibit the creation or destruction of human embryos for medical research" - China has one of the most permissive human embryonic stem cell policies in the world. In the absence of a public controversy, human embryo stem cell research is supported by policies that allow the use of human embryos and therapeutic cloning. - The Catholic Church opposes human embryonic stem cell research calling it "an absolutely unacceptable act." The Church supports research that involves stem cells from adult tissues and the umbilical cord, as it "involves no harm to human beings at any state of development." - Islamic scholars generally favor the stance that scientific research and development of stem cells is allowed as long as it benefits society while causing the least amount of harm to the subjects.

downrightmike 3y ago
[flagged]
- kolp 3y ago
  As an atheist, I would say that the opinions of these organisations do matter, insofar as they are likely to influence political opinion in the countries where they have significant followers.
  - downrightmike 3y ago
    Separation of church and state matters
- esafak 3y ago
  It matters to people who live in Muslim-majority countries.
  - downrightmike 3y ago
    [flagged]
- karencarits 3y ago
  Isn't it better to actually consider their arguments than dismissing them for being just who they are? Many of these people are extremely skilled in philosophy and ethics Although their arguments often are based on religious grounds that you may dismiss, you may also find that similar principles can be derived from humanistic traditions alone.
  - downrightmike 3y ago
    They get dismissed because they are toxic people and there is no value in dealing with them. They kill kids and entrap people and break them so they can keep exploiting people. Its a system of exploitation. If you're under 8yo, you can believe in Santa, but once you're old enough, you shouldn't believe in imaginary friends that someone else made up, especially if those imaginary friends are psychopaths.
yieldcrv 3y ago
my understanding is that embryos aren't the primary source of stem cells anymore and all of these jurisdictions are satisfied Miqu 70B Q4_K_M writes Embryonic stem cells are one of the main sources, but not the only ones. Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are 3-5 days old. These cells have the ability to develop into all cell types in the body. However, due to ethical concerns and the limited availability of human embryos, researchers have also developed methods to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to behave like an embryonic stem cell. They can be generated directly from adult tissues, such as skin or blood cells. Another source of stem cells is the umbilical cord blood and tissue, which is rich in hematopoietic stem cells. Adult (or somatic) stem cells are also present in various tissues in our body, such as bone marrow and fat. and here is a wiki and non-wiki source I found on iPSCs just in case the LLM made up an acronym. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3347549/#:~:text=Induced%20pluripotent%20stem%20cells%20(iPSCs,animal%20and%20human%20differentiated%20cells https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3347549/#:~:tex.... (this is how I do most of my queries these days)

dekhn 3y ago

California legalized stem cell research ~20 years ago, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/23/us/california-law-permits-stem-cell-research.html https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/23/us/california-law-permits... This led to CA being one of the world leaders (funny that a state can be a world leader, but that's CA in a nutshell) in stem cell research and applications. I worked in a few labs that did stem cell work and we got really attached to some of them. Like, "here's a microbrain I've been growing for 3 months", you start to empathize with them a bit.

ars 3y ago

The reason that whole controversy basically evaporated is that embryonic stem cells have so far been useless - anything you can do with them can also be done with adult stem cells. As far as I know there is no treatment, or even research that requires those cells vs adult ones. It also helps that there are embryonic cell lines available commercially, with no restrictions (in the US), for those who want to specifically study them and not adult ones. So to answer your question: No, the laws are not harming anything.