I'm Convinced: Stem Cell Research = Waste of Time. Everyone Die Quietly!

[IdaBriggs]

I'm watching Crossfire on tivo, and the guest taking Novak's place is G. Gordon Liddy. He's doing alright, especially in making me roll my eyes at blatant stupidity. He just said: "Senator Kerry has cruelly led Alzheimer's sufferers to believe that embryonic stem cell research offers some hope for them when Ronald McKay, who is the chief researcher for the National Institutes of Health, says that's a fairy tale. Why would he do that?"

Okay, that is such a DUMB question on so many levels, including the fact I don't think that's quite what Dr. McKay meant, but let's pretend (as Laura Bush said) that the "cure" is at least ten years away:

GET TO WORK ALREADY!

Sheesh. The alternative is just to say, "Yup, I'm convinced. No hope. Let's all put our research equipment away and go home to watch some football! Woo Hoo!"

Are these people idiots or what?

Scratch that. I already know the answer. Sigh.

For the record, I've buried three relatives in the last ten months who didn't have ten years to wait on the research. Its one of my many pet peeves with the current administration. Idiots!!!

[Barney Rocks]

1. I don't think

SCR offers much hope at all for Alzheimer's patients. Alzheimer's is a whole brain disease and it is extremely unlikely that SCR is going to help at all.

However, SCR is a good thing to support because it MAY someday help people with other diseases--such as Parkinson's.

A caveat is that 10 years is extremely optimistic--I think what they mean is that in 10 years scientists MAY begin to see indications of success in cell lines. Cures of humans (if cures are developed and are effective) would be generations down the line. Even if you are very young, I doubt you will live to see people being "cured" of their disease by SCR.

[IdaBriggs]

2. I hope you are wrong, but either way...

The only way to get something done is to START DOING IT. There are several different "types" of Alzheimer's, as well as a host of different diseases, and I completely agree with you about its possibilities with other diseases. (My sister had MS.) I'm still in the totally ticked off camp about the TWELVE YEARS we lost with infertility research thanks to Reagan and Bush Sr. If only Reagan hadn't been so concerned about "playing God" who knows how much further all of this stuff would be along? The opportunity cost for playing dumb is BIG. Sigh...

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. Help yes - cure no

There are certain traits common in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and one is dramamtic shrinkage of the hippocampus. If they transplanted stem cells into the hippocampus so that it could be restored, it could dramatically lessen their symptoms.

The bottom line is that we still don't know enough about Alzheimer's OR stem cells to say anything absolute about either of them. That's why the feds need to ALLOW AND FUND RESEARCH!

[blondeatlast]

5. The wait isn't getting any shorter under Bush's watch, AND

there is some very important research occurring overseas.

I've taken insulin for FORTY YEARS. I've been promised a cure "just around the corner" for forty years.

I can wait.

[Barney Rocks]

8. Diabetes is one of the

areas where SCR is going to be very helpful. I hope you can wait another 40 years though. Do people have any idea how long it takes to get from an idea to a cure (assuming everything pans out?) and then how long it takes to get that cure through trials and all the hoops of the FDA?

Now I am not trying to argue against funding it--although there are techniques that are better and more promising--I agree that we should be funding all research avenues. But I do advise people to be realistic--it will be a shocker if we see "cures" in our lifetimes. And yes--of course we should still be working toward cures--it is just that I hate seeing people say unrealistic things and try to get the hopes of sick people up. I think that is incredibly cruel.

I just finished working for a Foundation--we provide lots of $$$ for research--and believe it or not--I know what I am talking about. We would love for the feds to fund SCR, because right now it is high risk, low yield and any returns are years away. It would be great if the taxpayers will pay for the research--because the places like Foundations don't want to throw their money down a rat hole for the next 70-80 years. So yes--I throughly support spreading this cost out to the taxpayers.

[onenote]

4. liddy misrepresents mckay's position

In fact, back in 2003, McKay indicated that while an SCR-derived treatment for Alzheimer's wasn't around the corner, something could develop in 10-15 years. Even more importantly, he indicated that Parkinson's could be treated in 4-6 years. But what the heck, Novak, Cheney, Bush and that ilk have no reason to push for research that could help millions of people a decade from now, since they're already are brain-damaged and beyond any cure.

When can we expect a cure for Parkinson's? "If the grafting strategies work, you don't really need to know much about the cells except that you can make them and put them into a patient . . . then we're talking four, five, six years. If you have to know what (the cells are) doing . . . then we're talking 10 or 12 or 15 years." Alzheimer's would probably fit in this category, he said.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/07/1065292588988.html?oneclick=true

onenote

[dave123williams]

6. The day we turn to Christian fundamentalists to determine...

...what IS or ISN'T good science will be a dark day indeed. These dumbasses think the jury's still out on Evoloution, for Chrissakes.

Bush LOVES to use the phrase 'junk science', when that poor dumb bastard probably couldn't give even a cursory explanation of the scientific method.

Yeah; let's stop the progress of knowledge and exploration so these dipshits can feel good about their relationship with God. Give me a break; Liddy's a guy who famously burned his own arm as a demonstration of 'will'. The 'will of a dangerous nutjob felon' is more like it.

AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH. These people just piss me off sometimes.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. We don't need neo-luddites holding back lifesaving research.

We don't need people who genuinely believe that Dinosaur bones are "missionary lizards" planted in the dust to decieve the faithful 5,000 years ago... because that's how far back the Bible goes.

We need a president with a brain, that's more than apparent on several levels.

We need someone who understands that Iraqi children are people and stem cells are cells. That if you want to be 'pro-life' you should start worrying about the 45 Million lives with no health insurance in this country. That there's nothing "compassionate" about telling sick and dying people 'screw you; I've got an agenda'...

[Hamlette]

9. Liddy is right...and wrong.

Not much hope shown for Alzhiemers but then, kerry never said he supported it because of the hope is shows for Alzhiemers.

How about diabetes and Parkinson's. That's where the real hope lies.