Re: Italy & "virgin birth" embryos

[Marsha Lance <mlance1946@xxxxxxxxx>]

this is extremely interesting.  wonder if this is the answer to our problems.  
wouldn't a miracle be nice.

rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx> wrote:  Italian scientists say the stem cells 
they extracted from "virgin birth"
embryos are capable of turning into neurons.
The University of Milan researchers said the embryos were produced by a
process called parthenogenesis, which allows eggs to develop without being
fertilized.
The technique might allow embryonic stem cells to be produced without having
to destroy an early stage human embryo made by fertilizing eggs with sperm,
the Brisbane (Australia) Herald Sun reported.
Human "parthenotes" -- embryos made by parthenogenesis -- normally never
develop beyond a few days. But the Italian researchers created parthenotes
that divided and formed immature embryos called blastocysts, New Scientist
magazine reported. They subsequently obtained stem cells from the embryos
and grew them in the laboratory, demonstrating the cells can differentiate
into mature neurons.
Monash University stem-cell expert Dr. Alan Trounson told the Herald Sun:
"This is the first example I have seen of this in humans, and it is
potentially very exciting. It could be a source of embryonic stem cells
that's not embryonic in the conventional sense."
The findings were presented last week in the Czech Republic, during the
annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and
Embryology.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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MARSHA

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