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Mackenzie, this really should give people something to ponder. Maybe this explains nature's mistakes like conjoined twins. Recently there was a baby born with two heads that died after an attempt to remove the extra head. I don't know as much as you do about this, but it seems to me there are many hurdles that must be overcome before a blastocyst becomes a human being. Becoming a person is not a sure thing under "natural" conditions. Ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "mackenzie" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 8:18 AM Subject: Re: Mouse Testicle Cells - teratomas >i am actually not surprised by this. i read a book > about the history of stem cell research and was > fascinated by the discovery of the origins of a type > of tumor called a teratoma (maybe you know all about > them - i had never heard of them) - which leads to > something a little different from what the researchers > in this article have found, but related, and > interesting. > > there is an unfortunate strain of mice that seems to > be predisposed to this malady and a researcher whose > name escapes me discovered that these tumors begin to > form in the developing mouse embryo or fetus when a > germ cell (sperm or egg for those who, like me, had > forgotten what a germ cell was) somehow ended up > somewhere it wasn''t supposed to be - wasn't clear to > me whether it migrated to the wrong place or came into > being in the wrong place. > > but germ cells (and maybe all cells in a developing > entity, i don't know) must get a lot of the > "instructions" they follow in developing from the > environment, or area of the body in which they are > supposed to be, because these misplaced germ cells > start doing stuff that they are simply not supposed to > do, i.e., they start dividing exactly like an embryo > would. > > and for some period of time (not very long) they > continue to divide and proceed exactly like an embryo > - the instructions triggering the commencement of > differentiation have been received and differentiation > has begun. eventually they are ready for the next set > of instructions, which must contain the how-to for > keeping all that differentiation organized, because > when those instructions are not forthcoming, the > developing entity loses its coherence and while it > continues along the path of differentiation, it does > so in a chaotic way - and inside a teratoma one finds > random fully differentiated cells, like bone, bronchil > tissue, hair and teeth. > > Some who oppose ESCR have argued that a zygote, or the > earliest stage of an embryo, is just as sacred as a > fully formed human because it contains the entire > blueprint for becoming a fully formed human. but seem > to me the formation of teratomas could be evidence of > a couple of things. > > first, that the zygote does *not* contain the entire > blue print. seems more likely to me that it contains > instruction on the first few steps, which must end > such that the developing entity is in a state > receptive to, or seeking out, the next set of > instructions - and the whole deal is off if that next > set of instructions is not forthcoming. so the zygote > does *not* contain the entire blueprint - it just > starts the ball rolling - the next set comes from its > environment (or not). at least that is the way it > seems. > > the other thing it says to me is that every single > germ cell has the potential *on its own* to become an > embryo. all it needs are the wrong instructions - it > has all of the necessary building blocks. it is even > possible that rather than it being a case of the > presence of the wrong instructions, it could be the > absence of the right ones, where the right ones would > *stop* the cell from starting down the path of > differentiation. > > all very interesting, particularly in view of the > sacredness those who oppose ESCR place on a cell's > *potential* to become a fully formed human being. > > > > > > > --- "M.Schild" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> 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 >> > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn