MikeS Wrote:
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> Personally I think its a great idea. My dad is
> diabetic, and this offers hope that one day there
> may be a cure.

A cure for diabetes will be healing a human pancreas, not replacing it with a sheep pancreas that has many human cells, allowing an immune system to kill off the sheep (one hopes) and one hopes such a cell kill doesn't trigger some autoimmune disease. After all, will the cells be fully human or have a couple of sheep enzymes here and there?


> Then again I'm all for stem cell research as well,
> but considering my mum has MS as well I'm probably
> a genetic time-bomb (obviously not very
> intelligently designed!). I think you've got to
> have an open mind with all this stuff.

There was an interesting debate on stem cell research on the Catholic TV channel that I watched a couple of months ago, and posted links here. I don't know if anyone else watched it. One point that was made was that there are different kinds of stem cell research, and most of us do not know about it. Cells from embryos are one kind, but adult stem cells can also be used. According to this show, it is only the adult stem cell work that is yielding good results. Embryonic cells are different from adult cells in that they are harder to control and more like cancer in some respects. The adult cells behave better for the researchers. Aside from morality issues, which the Catholic church has, there is this other practical difference which no one talks about. I had hoped that someone who knows more than I do about biology (looks around for Pete) had watched and could comment.

>
> Ask the question! What is the difference between
> an animal harvested for food and an animal
> harvested for organs?

Quite a difference, because the animal harvest for food is all animal, not part human.

>
> Nothing its still serving our needs at the end of
> the day.

Is that why animals exist? To serve our needs? Or are we all part of an ecosystem that works best if we cooperate with it, understand it, and respect it?