A Human Life Begins the Moment
an Egg Is Fertilized In the Fallopian Tube
A human life begins the moment an egg is fertilized in the Fallopian tube, which occurs several days before it implants in a woman’s uterus.
Dr. Martin John Evans. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Sir Martin John Evans FRS (born 1 January 1941) is a British scientist, credited with discovering how to culture embryonic stem cells in 1981, and for his work in the development of the knockout mouse and the related technology of gene targeting.[1][2] In 2007, he was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition of his gene targeting work.
In 1981, Evans and Matt Kaufman published results for experiments in which they isolated embryonic stem cells from mouse blastocysts and grew them in cell culture.[15] This was also achieved by Gail R. Martin, independently, in the same year.[16] The availability of these cultured stem cells eventually made possible the introduction of specific gene alterations into the germ line of mice and the creation of transgenic mice.
Evans and his collaborators showed that they could introduce a new gene into cultured embryonic stem cells and then use such genetically transformed cells to make chimeric embryos. In some chimeric embryos, the genetically altered stem cells produced gametes, thus allowing transmission of the artificially induced mutation into future generations of mice. Transgenic mice with induced mutations in the enzyme Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) were created.The HPRT mutations were produced by retroviral insertion, but it was proposed that by taking advantage of genetic recombination between the normal HPRT gene and an artificial gene sequenced added to the cultured embryonic stem cells, "it may also eventually be possible to produce specific alterations in endogenous genes through homologous recombination with cloned copies modified in vitro". The production of transgenic mice using this proposed approach was accomplished in the laboratories of Oliver Smithies, and also of Mario Capecchi.
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Martin Evans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Martin Evans on his 'astonishing' Nobel prize
Sir Martin Evans, 66, is the father of research on stem cells, which can turn into any of the 200 or so types in the body and show great promise in new treatments for heart disease, Parkinson's and more besides.
With the support of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge University he developed ways to grow stem cells from the mouse embryo two decades ago. When an embryo is a few days old – and ready to implant in the womb - it is hollow and Sir Martin found a way to grow and multiply cells from the part of the embryo that will turn into the foetus and most of the placenta.
This research that would, among other things, inspire the effort to create Dolly the cloned sheep and efforts to grow human embryonic stem cells, now being studied for spinal repair, treatments for heart attacks and more besides.
But these embryonic stem cells can also grow indefinitely in the lab, providing huge opportunities to genetically alter them, the subject of his Nobel.
Mix these stem cells with the cells of another early embryo and the resulting offspring is a blend called a chimera (in Greek mythology, the chimera was a monster that had the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon) that can produce eggs and sperm that are the offspring of the GM stem cells.
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Sir Martin Evans on his 'astonishing' Nobel prize
Names of vodeos (left to right):
1)Frost Over The World - Stem Cell
Research and Turkey -26 Oct
Dr. Martin Evans, Pioneer
in Stem cell
2)The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine goes to: Dr. Martin Evans and ..
3)NBC 5 stem cell interview of Russell's lab
4)Liver Tissue Grown in Lab
5)Everything You Wanted To Know About
Stem Cells... But
6)The Stem Cell Debate
Researchers make 'embryonic-like' stem cells from umbilical cord blood
UK leads race to produce world's first clinical grade stem cells
Should stem-cell research be a crime?
By Timothy Caulfield
Stem cells can be thought of as "precursor cells" which have the potential to become almost any type of tissue in the human body (a characteristic known as "pluripotency"). As such, there is hope that we will one day be able to use stem cells to create new tissue to treat diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and to repair damaged nerves. Some have gone so far as to suggest we may be able to use stem-cell technology to grow needed organs for transplantation.
So, what is the big controversy?
While stem cells can be obtained from adults, the cells with the most scientific and therapeutic potential are derived from embryos and fetal tissue. The embryos used for this research are generally remaining from assisted reproductive procedures, such as in vitro fertilization. The fetal material is retrieved from terminated pregnancies. In a world where the legal and moral status of the fetus remains a hotly debated issue, it is hardly a surprise that stem-cell research should stir controversy
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Should stem-cell research be a crime?
Identity Deception: Not a Crime for a Stem Cell
Stem cell transdifferentiation in the adult organism is the most common and questioned mechanism of growth and repair. Recent data suggest that adult stem cells are capable of generating mature cells beyond their own tissue boundaries, a process called developmental plasticity. To date, the most versatile cell discovered is the bone marrow progenitor cell.
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Stem cell transdifferentiation
An interview with Robert Kelch:
By Sally Pobojewski
Robert Kelch:
Embryonic stem cells give us the opportunity to study, at the earliest stage, disorders caused by a specific gene defect to see if we could find a way to cure the disease. Let’s take another example, which to me is very meaningful. Let’s say a couple is going through in-vitro fertilization, but they want the early blastocyst to be tested for a genetic disease like Tay-Sachs disease, for example.
I disagree about what we ought to do with these very early products of conception, especially if they are not going to serve a useful purpose. What do I mean by that? I’m talking about literally hundreds of thousands of frozen blastocysts or early embryos, as some would call them, which were created for in-vitro fertilization. They are going to be discarded by people who no longer have a need or the desire to implant them into either their own uterus or someone else’s uterus. These discarded embryos have tremendous potential. I feel morally obligated, for the sake of the greater good, to try to take advantage of this potential by allowing scientists, under strict ethical guidelines, to use these frozen embryos to propagate new human embryonic stem cell lines. And, of course, we would like to do that here.
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In Support of Medical Research with Human Embryonic Stem Cells: An interview with Robert Kelch
Has Stem Cell Research Come to This?
Foetuses found at Bogota airport
Colombian police have found the bodies of three human foetuses hidden in statues destined for the United States.
The discovery was made by officers searching for contraband at Bogota Airport on Tuesday. The corpses were wrapped in plastic and concealed inside statues of Christian icons, which were smashed open. Colombian police chief Gen Jord Alirio Varon said the four- to five-month-old foetuses could have been intended for use in Satanic rituals. Gen Varon said the foetuses were found alongside crucifixes and medals.He said officials are trying to find out who sent the packages, which came from Barranquilla in Colombia and were destined for Miami in the US.
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Foetuses found at Bogota airport
Foetuses
Should stem-cell research be a crime?
By Timothy Caulfield
February 16, 2001 - Debates about the ethical and social bounds of medical science are becoming commonplace. Of course, the fear that medical science is moving too fast and into areas where it doesn't belong is not new. The original heart transplant was not met with universal praise. Likewise, the announcement of Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, created a tremendous amount of ethical debate.
The current speed of scientific discovery, however, seems to generate a new controversy every week. And amid this noise we hear frequent calls for regulation. Most notably, federal Justice Minister Allan Rock has been under growing pressure to introduce the much delayed legislation on genetic and new reproductive technologies--a law which will likely prohibit a wide variety of activities, including cloning, germ-line therapy and sex selection. We need this law, it is argued, to help separate acceptable research from that which is unacceptable.
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Should stem-cell research be a crime?
Label-retaining epithelial cells in mouse mammary gland divide asymmetrically and retain their template DNA strands
