tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post111722041842930605..comments2024-01-28T00:20:40.933-08:00Comments on Agoraphilia: Stem Cell BlockUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117237700963739002005-05-27T16:48:00.000-07:002005-05-27T16:48:00.000-07:00I think ultimately that it will boil down to infor...I think ultimately that it will boil down to information on a piece of paper or in a computer data bank. Now that scientists are unraveling all this DNA sequencing stuff, they're on the verge of knowing a living thing's exact genetic make-up. As Glen suggests with his skin cell take, one day we may be able to create a new (human) life from just the 1's and 0's on a disc. Look what Glen can already do with 1's and 0's on his new IPod - listen to thousands of cool songs! <BR/><BR/>In fact Beethoven works still live on thanks to the fact that people long ago learned how to make a record of music by writing down notes on a piece of paper. (First they had to invent paper!) I for one, wish we could clone Beethoven in the flesh so he could create new works. The same goes for cloning Glen and Tom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117235175930024552005-05-27T16:06:00.000-07:002005-05-27T16:06:00.000-07:00"A piece of paper is not a life, regardless of wha..."A piece of paper is not a life, regardless of what you write on it." No one claimed it was. But the anti-stem-cell-research crowd likes to harp on the embryo's possession of 46 chromosomes' worth of genetic information. The point of the Landsburg's story was to demonstrate that information is not enough. <BR/><BR/>"Intervention is required to clone a person via a skin cell. Whereas an embryo, if left alone, can realistically became a human life." Remember that with regard to stem cell research, we're usually talking about embryos currently frozen in test tubes. These embryos *cannot* become human life (in the morally relevant sense) without intervention, any more than skin cells can. So I stand by my skin-cell analogy.<BR/><BR/>Also, even an embryo currently inside the womb requires "intervention" of some kind. A pregnant woman who does not take specific steps -- eating enough, avoiding drugs and alcohol, etc. -- has a higher likelihood of miscarriage. Consider also the many women who require special medical attention to avoid miscarriage. There's a difference of degree between the skin cell (in my hypothetical) and the embryo, but not, I think, a difference in kind.Glen Whitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01425907466575991113noreply@blogger.com