Oh, no, not that annoying dictionary atheist argument again!

From Pharyngula

Once upon a time, there was a man who thought rather highly of humanity's potential. Sure, there were things humans did that were awful -- they could be violent, and careless, and short-sighted -- but they also did amazing things like science and art that other species didn't. Overall, he thought that calling someone "human" was a high compliment. And this idea colored his thinking in such a way that it began to shape his expectations of people; maybe we should expect human beings to do more than eat and excrete and reproduce, and maybe we should recognize that the word "human" meant an awful lot more than just a certain flavor of meat or the species of your parents.

He also noticed that every single human being he ever met, without exception, was more than a perambulating set of chromosomes. Some were good at math and others liked to dance and others were kind and yet others liked to argue, and these were the virtues that made them good and interesting, and made them…human, in this best sense of the word. So when he praised being human, it wasn't for the accident of their birth, it was for the qualities that made being human meaningful.

Unfortunately, not all humans liked having the fact that words carry greater connotations than the most narrow, most literal, most concise, dictionary-style definitions, despite the obvious fact that they all do. They got quite irate.

"I am a human because I am not a squirrel, or a hyena, or a fish, or broccoli," some said, "and I resent the fact that you think there's more to me than being a not-squirrel!"

"You expect me to be good at math to qualify as human?" complained some of the slower, less alert people, who failed to notice that the man had made no such specific requirements.

"The only thing that all humans have in common is that they were born to other humans, and can only reproduce with humans," said other complainers, "therefore, that is all that 'human' can imply or mean. How dare you taint my pure and perfect language with complications and nuances and expectations!" 

And the man listened to their arguments for a while, and argued back for a while, and then he came upon a simple solution. He told the not-squirrels and identity-by-rutters and functional illiterates and simple-minded machine-coders to fuck off, and it was good.

"Ad hominem!" they squeaked.

"Who cares what barely human people think, anyway," he shrugged.

Live human heart grown in lab using stem cells in potential transplant breakthrough

By David Derbyshire of the Mail Online
4th April 2011

Breakthrough: Scientists are hopeful their artificial heart will be beating within days

Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, offering hope for millions of cardiac patients. American researchers believe the artificial organs could start beating within weeks.

The experiment is a major step towards the first ‘grow-your-own’ heart, and could pave the way for  livers, lungs or kidneys to be made  to order.

The organs were created by removing muscle cells from donor organs to leave behind tough hearts of connective tissue. Researchers then injected stem cells which multiplied and grew around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

Dr Doris Taylor, an expert in regenerative medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said: ‘The hearts are growing, and we hope they will show signs of beating within the next weeks. ‘There are many hurdles to overcome to generate a fully functioning heart, but my prediction is that it may one day be possible to grow entire organs for transplant.’

Patients given normal heart transplants must take drugs to suppress their immune systems for the rest of their lives.

This can increase the risk of high blood pressure, kidney failure and diabetes.

If new hearts could be made using a patient’s own stem cells, it is less likely they would be rejected.

The lab-grown organs have been created using these types of cells – the body’s immature ‘master cells’ which have the ability to turn into different types of tissue. The experiment follows a string of successes for researchers trying to create spare body parts for transplants. 

In 2007, British doctors grew  a human heart valve using stem  cells taken from a patient’s  bone marrow.

HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN HEART

• The donor heart is removed from the body; pig hearts may also be suitable.
• Detergents are then used to strip the cells from the heart leaving behind the protein skeleton or 'ghost heart'.
• Stem cells grown from cells taken from a patient are then added to the ghost heart.
• The stem cells then multiply and generate new heart cells. now all that is left is the hope that these will start beating.

A year later, scientists grew a beating animal heart for the first time.

Dr Taylor’s team have already created beating rat and pig hearts. Although they were too weak to be used in animals, the work was an important step towards tailor-made organs.

In their latest study, reported at the American College of Cardiology’s annual conference in New Orleans, researchers created new organs using human hearts taken from dead bodies.

The scientists stripped the  cells from the dead hearts with a powerful detergent, leaving ‘ghost heart’ scaffolds made from the protein collagen.

The ghost hearts were then injected with millions of stem cells, which had been extracted from patients and supplied with nutrients. The stem cells ‘recognised’ the collagen heart structure and began to turn into heart muscle cells. The hearts have yet to start beating – but if they do, they could be strong enough to pump blood.

However, the race to create a working heart faces many obstacles.

One of the biggest is getting enough oxygen to the organ through a complex network of blood vessels. Scientists also need to ensure the heart cells beat in time.

Dr Taylor told the Sunday Times: ‘We are a long way off creating a heart for transplant, but we think we’ve opened a door to building any organ for human transplant.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1372938/Live-human-heart-grown-lab-using-stem-cells-potential-transplant-breakthrough.html#ixzz1JBZD5w8v

Scientists grow 'embryonic eye' in test tube

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent,  6 Apr 2011

Eye transplants to cure blindness have taken a step closer after scientists managed to 'grow' a retina in the laboratory for the first time. Researchers were amazed when stem cells in a test tube spontaneously organised themselves into a complex structure that resembles the developing embryonic eye.

The surprising development could lead eventually to whole retinas being cultured and then transplanted, restoring sight in the blind and visually impaired. The team from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, first cultivated embryonic stem cells in a test tube and then added proteins to trigger them into developing.

They hoped that they would form a recognisable organ but were still stunned when over 10 days they clustered together and began to grow the "optical cup" of a retina.Tests showed that the cells were functioning normally and were capable of communicating with each other.

The research was done on mouse eyes, but there is no reason why a similar technique would not work on humans, said the experts.They hope that within 10 years to be able to start clinical trials on retina implants.

"This is an absolutely stunning achievement," said Professor Robin Ali, an ophthalmologist at University College London."It is a landmark not just for the retina but for regenerative medicine as a whole."

More than a million people in Britain suffer from vision problems caused by a damaged or malfunctioning retinas. The retina is the "business end" of the eye, where nerve cells convert light into electrical and chemical signals that are sent to the brain down the optic nerve. If it is not working then the eye is useless.

Professor Yoshiki Sasai, lead author said: "What we've been able to do in this study is resolve a nearly century-old problem in embryology, by showing that retinal precursors have the inherent ability to give rise to the complex structure of the optic cup."

His team, who filmed the technique as it unfolded, grew floating clusters of the mouse cells in a special tissue culture in the laboratory that had previously been successfully used to make a variety of brain cells.

By adding particular proteins they were able to get the cells to build a three dimensional layered structure reminiscent of the optic cup within 10 days.The retinal neurons ultimately organised into a six-layer structure closely resembling that of a retina shortly after birth.

This could eventually lead to treatments aimed at repairing the eyes of people with conditions that limit or destroy their sight. Potential applications include regenerative medicine approaches to the treatment of progressive genetic disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Prof Ali, who reviewed the research published in Nature, said: "For the first time, we see unfolding in real time the beautiful events that shape the early stages of mammalian eye development. "But even more remarkable is that these are not recordings from live animals, but of self-organising 3-D cultures of embryonic stem cells."

You are required to watch Tim Minchin's excellent short animated movie.

The Decorah triplets: A birds-eye view of our own

It is unequivocally captivating. In fact, I personally am addicted, along with millions of others, and it's giving Decorah, Iowa much attention, especially since going national and beyond.

If you've not logged onto the website sponsored by the Raptor Resource Project, I suggest you immediately cease from reading my blather and go online to www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles.

Over the years, I have been subjected to newborn birds and other small wildlife, due to various reasons, which resulted in overseeing their care. Not all made it, but for those that did, raising to maturity and letting the animals free were major accomplishments on many levels. (However, don't get me started on the lack of sleep toward clockwork feedings.)

This likely enhanced my own obsession with the Decorah Eagles. By the video's angle, one would never know that the nest, which took months to prepare, weighs well over a ton, averaging between five and six feet wide. The pair has used this same one since 2007, as it is nestled 80 feet high within a cottonwood tree. And, the first of three eggs pipped early Saturday morning.

We humans are fortunate to have been given this opportunity for experiencing nature at its finest - from a birds-eye view. Late Saturday night, an owl came within close proximity, likely anticipating the carcass of a rabbit in their nest (caught just two days before the first hatching). It could be heard hooting just out of camera shot. The mother, covering her brood, glared intently as she called to her mate, perched on a nearby branch. Evidently, the owl became what it is known for and thought better of a possible tangle with the mighty beings, not to be heard again.

The second eaglet emerged from its shell Sunday morning and the final egg is due to hatch any moment. The website has to be one of the elite classroom tools currently utilized and if not, it should be. Although, the demise of nearby animals for their nourishment - whether rabbits, squirrels or birds, etc. - would be something for gentle discussion among young children who are watching - the whole circle of life thing, yada yada.

(In fact, it's highly recommended because 'dad' dropped off a fresh-feathered kill before Sunday's dusk, then sitting on the edge to partake of his dinner.)

But overall, the process, for what these eagles motion, stands for what is still good and innocent.

Hopeful and uplifting.

The day those babies soar freely in the wind will be a great day.

Indeed.

 
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