Amniotic stem cells

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I suppose you've all heard the news by now that amniotic fluid contains stems.
Human stem cells found in amniotic fluid

Like embryonic stem cells, they appear to thrive in lab dishes for years, while normal cells, called somatic cells, die after a time.

"They are easier to grow than human embryonic stem cells," Atala added in a telephone interview. And, unlike embryonic stem cells, they do not form a type of benign tumor called a teratoma, he said.

Atala said a bank with 100,000 specimens of the amniotic stem cells theoretically could supply 99 percent of the U.S. population with perfect genetic matches for transplants.
I'm sure that many of you, like myself, breathed sigh of relief that we now had yet another source of stem cells that did not require destroying embryos. I thought, surely we would not want to continue such a morally repugnant practice as harvesting stem cells from embryos. But I was wrong.
Scientists find stem cell source in amniotic fluid

Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells.

They reported they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone.

Nonetheless, Daley said the discovery shouldn't be used as a replacement for human embryonic stem cell research.


Scientists may have found stem cells in amniotic fluid but they are still hell bent on pursing the moral quagmire that is embryonic stem cell research. It leaves me to wonder why when presented with a non-lethal, morally neutral, easily accessible source of stem cells one would continue to insist on using embryonic stems cells. It reminds me a lot of the teenager who insists on having the prohibitively expensive brand name jeans rather than wear the jeans with no brand name that were made in the same factory and sell for half the price.


Hat tip Instapundit and Wizbang.

Tag: Stem cells

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