Originally posted by nixie_nox
Stem cells don't just come from embryos. They come from adults when they donate. They come from placentas, they come from cord blood. Stem cell is a
generic term.
I'm all for placental, cord blood, and adult stem cell research for a few reasons. 1.) It has been proven succesful (whereas embryonic stem cells
apparently have not) 2.) Donors will not be lining up to sell these materials, the industry will not be making supply demands. 3.) Most importantly,
no one dies.
Originally posted by nixie_nox
Now these are embryos that are not used, and rejected, and otherwise thrown away. So I don't understand why the can't be put to incredible use?
When cryogenically frozen as I understand it, these blastocysts can be stored for future parents. Parents get to choose the blastocyst according to
inherent properties "no, not that one, it's a mutant". By creating a demand by a business which does research on blastocysts means they'll need a
whole lot of them and they're willing to shell big money to make it happen. High demand turns into a desire for high supply and thus the factory is
born.
Most products people in the industrialized nations use today are turned out swiftly by the process of mass production, by people (and sometimes,
robots) working on assembly lines using power-driven machines.
Commerce and industry have always been closely related. Sometimes one is ahead and sometimes the other, but the one behind is always trying to catch
up.
Large-scale commerce could not be carried on by barter, as much of the earlier trade had been. Gold and silver from the New World helped meet this
need. Banks and credit systems developed. By the end of the 17th century Europe had a large accumulation of capital. Money had to be available before
machinery and steam engines could come into wide use for they were costly to manufacture and install.
history-world.org...
Actually a pretty fascinating read at the link if you have the time. Point being, where there's a high demand, there's a factory. In this case, an
embryo factory.