• Question: do you believe in stem cell research or are you against it and think it is the equivelent of testing on live subjects

    Asked by footlecyrusyut to Jack, Jon, Tom, Yalda on 15 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Tom Branson

      Tom Branson answered on 15 Mar 2013:

      I think Stem cell research is great. These are cells that have the potential to change into all different types and if we can control that then we could rebuild body parts and produce many drugs and things we can’t yet do.

      But they are controversial as to where we get them from and so should we be doing this? For me I think the possible advantages are so great that it is worth researching more with stem cells.

    • Photo: Yalda Javadi

      Yalda Javadi answered on 15 Mar 2013:

      I believe in stem cell research yes. I don’t think that it is the same as testing on live subjects. And there are just so many benefits to it.. they have the potential to replace or repair any damaged tissue and can potentially tackle brain degenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s, cancers, sight loss, diabetes… all sorts!

    • Photo: Jack Heal

      Jack Heal answered on 16 Mar 2013:

      I think stem cell research is useful and important. There have already been a lot of treatments which have come from stem cell research, and I think there will be many more to come. I don’t think it’s the same as testing on live subjects.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 17 Mar 2013:

      I think it definitely has a place in science – and to me, it’s a very long way from testing on live subjects. Stem cells are cells that haven’t specialised into a particular type of cell yet (“differentiation”), whereas people are made of million of specialised cells. I think that makes them very different things.

    • Photo: Jon Marles-Wright

      Jon Marles-Wright answered on 17 Mar 2013:

      Stem cell research is great, if a little over-sold at the moment, it has lots of potential to answer important questions about human disease and to produce new treatments. Dishes and flasks of cells are about as far from live subjects as you can get, so it’s very different in my mind.

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