Scientists report possibly crucial advance in human embryonic stem cell research

The step, published in the journal Nature, marks a long-sought, potentially pivotal advance toward the goal of creating genetically matched embryonic stem cells that could be used to treat many major diseases.

Washington Post

This is wonderful news.

But any news of stem cell research brings up the debate about whether it is moral to use embryonic stem cells. IN this case, the embryo is a mutant, and destroyed to make the stem cells.

The researchers who conducted the work and others hailed the advance as an ethically defensible, potentially highly significant advance that could lead to producing large numbers of patient-specific cells that could cure widespread suffering.

I don't believe these are viable embryos and not up for moral debate. But the arguement could be made that is the good of the many over the good of the few.

I think it is a debate that will never truley be solved.

I smell a Nobel Prize in their future.

The other issue in question, whether women should be paid to donate eggs.

Thanks for the update fella

I'm sure I saw somewhere that scientists have almost found a way of taking skin cells, changing the genetic make-up of the cells and reverting them to stem cells, from there they can 'manipulate' into become whatever type of cell it is that they require... I'll try to find some info on it

Thanks again,

Kyle

ETA: Found it, and it actually goes back further than I thought... 2008!

Source

I mentioned this in regards to the ethical debate surrounding stem cell research. If the treatment doesn't involve an actual embryo, it surely can't be unethical can it?