> What a great opportunity to add a little bit of controvery (and on a
> SUNDAY).
>
> Seems that myelin regeneration in the central nervous system is VERY
> limited. BUT, according to the myelin project, if undifferentiated neural
> cells are injected --they seem to have this "knowledge" that they need to
> "remyelinate" and have actually done so in some experiments. Of course
> --taking rat glial cells and injecting them in a human spinal cord does
> present certain problems. BUT taking genetically identical "precursor"
cells
>
> and injecting them into a human spinal cord would probably cause
> remyelinization with almost NO chance of rejection --nice idea, eh? But
> where do we get these genetically identical cells from --well there is a
> sheep in Scotland that has the answer --but seems that every two bit
> politician and a lot of scientists who have never spent time in a wheel
> chair and catheterizing six times a day see some inherent "evil" in human
> cloning. I for one would not feel too bad about a few of my genetically
> identical cells being injected into me!!!!! Ah yes --but Hitler and
Hussein
>
> are ready to be cloned too and we must stop this madness --WHAT BS!!!
Even
> if Uncle Sadam (Sam?) were to produce a twin ( and what are these
ridiculous
>
> arguements about having a genetically identical duplicate running around
> --twins, triplets and so on have had this for CENTURIES) it would be
highly
> unlikely that it would be able to duplicate his "nurture" factors. He
might
>
> grow up and want to join Mother Teresa?
>
> My point? Cloning has incredible possibilites for people with
diseases
>
> like MS and TM which had been at a stand still for years --yet we are to
be
> left sitting in our chairs, unable to walk, to love, because some
> government(s) fear the unknown. I don't buy it for a minute!
>
> bryan
>
>
>
Bryan,
I haven't thought through all of this yet, so I haven't arrived at any
final conclusions. I hadn't honestly thought of the possibility of using
cloning as you described. I guess at this point I see no harm in cloning a
few cells for the purpose of helping a person's body heal as you described. I
do see harm in the potential of cloning whole people in order to harvest
their body parts. There are many ramifications of this and potential for good
and evil that needs to be thought through, and my initial reaction toward
cloning is negative, except for a few cells, as you described.
By the way...being in a wheelchair and unable to walk doesn't affect a
person's ability to love and be loved. The mental/emotional/spiritual aspect
of love is much greater than the physical.
Barbara