Halloween pic of me as a cat..;)

Stem Cell research

I was watching Anderson 360 and, Michael J Fox was on talking about stem cell research.
I think for the purposes of finding a cure for many diseases it is a great idea.
It is designed to help find cures...not for cloning purposes. It amazes me that science has taken us thus far..and some folks out there are afraid of it.
No matter how afraid some people are..the fact is..that I believe these people who are against it have never had to experience a debilitating disease.

I'd like to see how they would fair if they had the same afflictions. Wouldn't they be the first people getting on the stem cell research bandwagon..You're damn right, they would.

I found a great article on a site called BoingBoing...about stem cell research..
Check it out..

http://www.boingboing.net/2003_05_01_archive.html

Immortality gene pinpointed, named after Network Operators Group

Researchers at the Institute for Stem Cell Research in Scotland have discovered a gene that turns ordinary cells into immortal stem-cells.

The gene found in mouse ESCs and some human equivalents appears to be the "master gene", co-ordinating other genes to allow stem cells to multiply limitlessly while still retaining their ability to differentiate. It has been christened Nanog after the land in Celtic myth called Tir nan Og, whose inhabitants remain forever young.

"Nanog seems to be a master gene that makes ESCs grow in the laboratory," says Ian Chambers, one of the team at the Institute for Stem Cell Research (ISCR), Edinburgh, Scotland. "In effect this makes stem cells immortal."