Ironworks Gaming Forum - The Case for Adult Stem Cell Research

I was not... so I watched.

I wouldn't consider that an interview, at least not the part that's shown. Note that Fox doesn't actually say anything in that clip... it's all Oz postulating his position. I would be extremely interested in the entire clip, rather than a carefully snipped piece.

Interestingly, I can find no copies of that show that include anything other than Oz talking and Oprah's one comment. Perhaps I need to find a better way to search through Youtube... any helpers?

That aside...

He's a "notable medical expert"... in what area? Would you ask an orthodontist (who is a medical expert) for detailed info about how to treat your glaucoma? Personally, I'd go to a medical expert in that field... Oz's background is cardiothoracic, not genetics or whatever umbrella category stem cell research might fall in to.
Loosely quoted, "the problem with embryonic stem cells is that they can become any cell in the body and can't be controlled... any cell... including cancer." (around 1:10 or so in the video). Embryonic stem cells tend to take on the characteristics of the cells around them... so place them next to a cancer, and guess what the plan might be? Of course, the same thing would also hold true for tissue stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which are tissue cells that have been forced back to embryonic state. But wait... since they're now pluripotent and can become anything, wouldn't they be subject to the same issue?
In talking about iPS, note that they were first "discovered" in 2007... he makes it sound like they are brand new in Aplril of 2009. Perhaps...
He claims that iPS will not be as prone to cancer. I have seen nothing to support that, and would welcome supporting info. He also claims that since they're your own cells, they will be less likely to be rejected. That's absolutely true. However, it's not a blanket "Will never be rejected" statement, which he appears to make. But the odds are indeed much greater.
I love all the "I think" and "I believe" statements... I'd love "My research has shown" statements even more.

IOW, Yorick, I could accomplish the same thing by creating a video of me explaining why Unions are a serious problem (just to cross threads ever so slightly ;) ) with you in the clip, not let you say anything, and then use it to further my own position about unions. An interesting conjecture, but without info to back it up, I'm... not buying into it fully.

I don't disagree that there is exciting research going on... there is. But there are whole other issues that remain to be discovered. Quoting from the MJFF position paper:

Quote:

Although scientists have been able to coax ES cells, iPS cells and adult stem cells to become dopamine neurons, whether these engineered dopamine neurons are sufficiently 'authentic'— that is, whether they express everything natural ones do — is unclear and difficult to measure. To date, scientists have had the most success generating robust dopamine neurons, in both quantity and quality, using ES cells.

Note the wording... doesn't say that one is better or worse than the other, and doesn't suggest that it will never change. It states that so far, the best results (as measured) come from embryonic cells. Will someone find ways to make iPS cells generate equally good or perhaps better results? I hope so.

As a side note, I've recently read all three of Fox's books. Not for this particular debate... I just picked the first one from the biography shelf at the library, then saw the others and continued. Since retiring from acting, he has thrown himself into his foundation and trying to find a cure for the disease which is slowly and surely killing him.

He made what I consider a very profound statement about his own knowledge of Parkinsons. Since I don't have the book in front of me, I can't give an exact quote, but the gist of it was that when he started his foundation, he knew a few things, but was certainly a non-expert in the area of Parkinson's and its research. Now, however, he can sit in a meeting of the expert, know what's going on, and have reasonable dialogue with them about it.

My take is that I'll wager that he knows as much about the research that Oz is talking about, and probably more. Lots more.