It's amazing what the human body can accomplish!
In Australia, a fifteen year old girl named Demi-Lee Brennan received a liver transplant when she was nine years old. At the time, she was dangerously ill with liver failure. What is truly remarkable about this story is that normally, when a person first receives a transplant the human body rejects anything foreign because it does not recognize the organ. However, in Demi-Lee's case, the doctors have found that only 9 months after the transplant, her body had totally adopted the donor's immune system after stem cells from the new liver migrated to her bone marrow. Not only that, Demi-Lee's blood type also changed to the same as the donor's blood type. This case is the first of it's kind in medical history.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080124/hl_afp/australiahealthchildrentransplant_080124175631;_ylt=AspGhlXL0jtqFupXR4HFg8wPLBIF)
Doctors and scientists are now trying to apply what happened in Demi-Lee's case to other patients who are to receive transplants as well. There is no solid explanation for this miracle but there are theories. One theory is that Demi-Lee's immune system was so weak that the stem cells migrated to the bone marrow and proliferated. Brennan hasn't taken any anti-rejection drugs for about four years now and her liver is functioning normally. There are also no symptoms of the immune cells of the donated liver attacking the host.
(http://www.australiannews.net/story/321233)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Stem Cell Research
Although it is a breakthrough in finding new treatments and cures for diseases, stem cell research has created a lot of controversy in our world.
On Thursday, January 17, 2008, scientists in California produced embryos that are clones of two men. What was amazing about this was that the embryos were made with ordinary skin cells. The cloning process is done by inserting DNA into a human egg. Then when the egg gets to be about five days old, they extract the stem cells from it. The scientists took skin cells from Dr. Samuel Wood, who is a co-author of the new paper and chief executive of Stemagen Corp. in La Jolla, California, and another volunteer. The scientists produced three embryos with DNA that matched the men’s. It was confirmed that they were human clones by further testing of the DNA.
(http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/01/17/cloned.embryos.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText)
There are many people who oppose this however. They say that we do not have the right to create humans for the sole purpose of destroying them in order to help others. Richard Doerflinger, spokesman for U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that as a scientific advancement, the new study and findings will be “very limited.” Due to these protests and objections, scientists have taken on a new method to achieve stem cells. This new process directly turns skin cells into stem cells but it has a greater possibility of cancer for the person receiving the tissues.
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_sc/cloned_embryos;_ylt=AtO5tJD6Bkwfhx_nG1x1MogPLBIF>
On Thursday, January 17, 2008, scientists in California produced embryos that are clones of two men. What was amazing about this was that the embryos were made with ordinary skin cells. The cloning process is done by inserting DNA into a human egg. Then when the egg gets to be about five days old, they extract the stem cells from it. The scientists took skin cells from Dr. Samuel Wood, who is a co-author of the new paper and chief executive of Stemagen Corp. in La Jolla, California, and another volunteer. The scientists produced three embryos with DNA that matched the men’s. It was confirmed that they were human clones by further testing of the DNA.
(http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/01/17/cloned.embryos.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText)
There are many people who oppose this however. They say that we do not have the right to create humans for the sole purpose of destroying them in order to help others. Richard Doerflinger, spokesman for U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that as a scientific advancement, the new study and findings will be “very limited.” Due to these protests and objections, scientists have taken on a new method to achieve stem cells. This new process directly turns skin cells into stem cells but it has a greater possibility of cancer for the person receiving the tissues.
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_sc/cloned_embryos;_ylt=AtO5tJD6Bkwfhx_nG1x1MogPLBIF>
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Anderson and McEnroe Plead Not Guilty
On December 24, 2007, a couple from Washington, Michele Anderson and her boyfriend, Joseph Thomas McEnroe, walked into the home of Michele Anderson's parents and shot them both. Knowing that Michele's brother, his wife, and their two children would arrive soon, the couple, both of whom are 29, hid the bodies in a shed. When the rest arrived for Christmas Eve celebration, Anderson and McEnroe shot and killed them all. When McEnroe shot the two children, he apologized to them and then shot them both in the head. They stated that the reason for killing the children was to conceal their identities. Both of them were charged with six counts of first-degree murder. After the shooting, Anderson and McEnroe fleed to Canada but returned the next day and were taken into custody.
(http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=5855041)
Then on January 10, 2008, the couple pleaded not guilty to the murdering of the six family members. Although the motive for killing them was not clear, Anderson said that her brother owed her money and she was upset because her parents didn't take her side. Also, her parents were apparently pressuring her and her boyfriend to pay rent for staying on their property. Joseph McEnroe's mother told the Seattle Times that she had lost contact with her son due to money issues but was shocked to hear that he was arrested for doing such a thing because he a "good Christian."
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_on_re_us/carnation_killings_2)
(http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=5855041)
Then on January 10, 2008, the couple pleaded not guilty to the murdering of the six family members. Although the motive for killing them was not clear, Anderson said that her brother owed her money and she was upset because her parents didn't take her side. Also, her parents were apparently pressuring her and her boyfriend to pay rent for staying on their property. Joseph McEnroe's mother told the Seattle Times that she had lost contact with her son due to money issues but was shocked to hear that he was arrested for doing such a thing because he a "good Christian."
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_on_re_us/carnation_killings_2)
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