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March 26, 2006 Amrita Rajan The fruit of your loins might just be an end to the suffering of millions worldwide. According to German scientists, cells from mice testes "closely mimic" embryonic stem cells, i.e. they can transform into almost any type of body tissue. All stem cells - whether embryonic or not - possess three characteristics: "they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types." The problem, however, is to keep the stem cells unspecialized in laboratory conditions until they are needed. Thus far, embryonic stem cells are the only ones that scientists have been able to stabilize as required. That process took 20 years to master. The discovery of the mice testes, therefore, is significant. Of course, in case the lab results can be duplicated in humans, many people will be happy for more than purely scientific reasons. In case you missed it, a lot of people have been very unhappy about the "embryonic" in embryonic stem cells. To find cures for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are of course noble goals, but the fact that those cures might come from the yet unrealized corpses of future generations of humans was too much to swallow for some people. Some people who vote. And others who just pray - loudly. And so the news that we don't have to wait for the sperm to make its way into an egg for science to advance is no doubt very good news. Now, we can go directly to the source and hope that there is not much difference between man and mouse. It is too early to know what the proponents of Intelligent Design are thinking but it is possible that in the interests of scientific achievement they will take the stance that when the Designer was Designing us all, He knew we might have need of mice to point us in the right path. Only time, or An Entity not quite God but suspiciously like Him, can tell. Amrita Rajan lives and lives to write in NYC. [Was that too cute for you?] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn