Incorrect Visualization Makes Author Appear Naive

I'm not the brightest person in the world, but I endeavor to correct my errant conceptions whenever necessary.

One of those errant conceptions made its way into this blog...and I feel compelled to explain. The misconception I had was that "oligodendrocytes" are precursor-cells that mature into different specialized cells. That is not really true...STEM CELLS do that...Oligodendrocytes are MATURE cells that produce new MYELIN -- the insulating fatty-tissue coating neurons.

Perhaps you'll understand why I made this mistake...my misunderstanding was based in attempting to explain how "remyelination" might be a possible future-treatment for M.S. sufferers..."remyelination" is already a function of oligodedrocytes...they just don't do it quickly enough to repair the "active-lesions" associated with M.S.

Studying more closely the biology of oligodendrocytes might lead Neurologists to develop a novel treatment for runaway M.S.-lesions, but not necessarily.

Studying the mechanisms stem-cells employ in maturing into oligodendrocytes might yield clues about how this might be done...but not necessarily.

Who knows?

--mattergy

Stemming the Facts, Pt. 2

Since I received a good number of comments on my last article about embryonic stem-cell research, I wanted to clarify my tack.

Yes I believe that the practice of aborting viable embryos is NOT very desirable, even for the sake of scientific-research...BUT there's a vast difference between viable embryos and human stem-cells grown in the laboratory.

The main crux is that almost every medically-advanced nation on earth has the capability of growing existing lines of human stem-cells in-culture.

Where most people balk is in thinking that such research will lead to more abortions or other equally draconian practices.

I counter with a truth that puts matters into perspective...nuclear-proliferation, for all its draconian implications, is managed in our imperfect-world by people of the utmost integrity...the proof is that as dangerous as nuclear-weapons are, nuclear-conflict has been withheld since it became a potential...since the days of Edward Teller.

I point this out, because medical-research is just as potentially harmful to mankind given its current technological state...yet is managed with equal care.

Where it might become dangerous are in places where the Hippocratic Oath is NOT enforced...places where moral-law is non-existent...but where there are still moral-laws, such abominations find NO refuge.