One of the greatest desires of our generation, and rightly so, is to find a cure to the diseases that plague mankind. For many, myself included, there is a moral question in using embryonic stem cells because it requires starting a life and then destroying it. Arguments are made the the “greater good” should prevail, and that good being finding cures.
For some time now many scientists have been saying that the real key to making significant progress is in work with adult stem cells rather than embryonic cells. Last week the Washington Post ran an article that indicates that scientists have made real progress toward significant results with adult cells. In an article entitled Scientists Reprogram Adult Cells’ Function they stated:
“Scientists have transformed one type of fully developed adult cell directly into another inside a living animal, a startling advance that could lead to cures for a variety of illnesses and sidestep the political and ethical quagmires associated with embryonic stem cell research.
Through a series of painstaking experiments involving mice, the Harvard biologists pinpointed three crucial molecular switches that, when flipped, completely convert a common cell in the pancreas into the more precious insulin-producing ones that diabetics need to survive.”
May this develop into something that will bring great relief to many people in the not so distant future. For this we should diligently pray.
One of the scientists expressed his enthusiasm this way:
“One day, this may allow the doctor to replace the scalpel with a sort of genetic surgery,” Lanza said. “If this can be perfected, it would represent one of the holy grails of medicine.”
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Here I Stand . . . I Can Do Nothing Else 