New Stem Cell Methods

As you may or may not know I have been a fan of trying to find a way to do stem cell research in a way where we a.) get the full benefits efficiently and b.) it won't be a never ending ethical debate. I am pragmatic enough to know that even if I was in favor of stem cell research, if the majority of the country was against it, it would be ineffective.

Today, good news was announced that stem cells can be extracted from amniotic fluid. Cells from an embryo shed just like cells from us shed. We can uses these "embryonic cells" which come off the embryo naturally without hurting it for doing full on embryonic stem cell research with full benefits. Also, embryonic cells can be taken from the placenta after the baby is born which is thrown away. Hopefully, it will be ethical enough now that we can start doing so revolutionary science. Here are some references from the Washington Post, Scientific American, and Newsweek.