[olePigeon]

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.ph...7-121143-6745r

"The stem cell transplantation was performed on Oct. 12 this year and in just three weeks she started to walk with the help of a walker," Song told reporters at a news conference in Seoul.

THAT is why I'm a huge supporter for stem cell research. I tell ya, that's one of the coolest things ever.

[JohnnyAppleseed]

Sounds like she had a damaged or 'bruised' spinal cord as opposed to a snapped one. But that aside it is good news for people with just this kind of damage.

I always have this thing in the back of my mind...What if it were me? What if...

[olePigeon]

The precursor to this was experiments with mice. They had mice with completely severed spinal cords that regained 70% to 90% of their mobility. They would put some organic "threads" covered in a specific stem cell (I guess the ones used to grow spinal cord nerve endings) along the severed part of the cord. Over a few weeks, brand new nerve endings had grown, then connected, the broken part of the spinal cord.

Like you said, though, this story was only for traumatized injuries. You get a LOT of those in physical sports like American football, rugby, lacrosse, hockey, etc. So good news for sports players who thought their career was over.

[Komisar]

Thats a great story.... stem cells are a great thing!

[AB^2=BCxAC]

Sketchy story. Doesn't say what line the stem cells came from (relevant, considering that the U.S. still has some stem cell lines legalized for research). I hope it's the kind of research that can be validated and show that the U.S. can do more to make the research acceptable. Of course, somebody's always going to complain that the fetus used ought to have been treated with more respect than being an involuntary donor. But considering that you can't fill that out on the back of your driver's license, it's not an ethical question everyone is comfortable with yet.

[olePigeon]

Hey, Christians can stay in a wheel chair. I have no problem with that. Better parking. Meanwhile, this woman is walking again after doctors told her she would never walk again. I think that's fantastic.

[olePigeon]

This was the free link. Here's the subscription version that goes into detail.

This was using "adult" stem cells taken from spinal cords.

[nredman]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Hey, Christians can stay in a wheel chair. I have no problem with that. Better parking. Meanwhile, this woman is walking again after doctors told her she would never walk again. I think that's fantastic.

i think its great too....oh wait i am christian...guess i will stay in my wheel chair.

[t6hawk]

Story does not sound 100% accurate. Regenerating the nerves in a three week span seems incredible. Last I heard when I was researching into stem cells for a paralyzed friend, it would take a couple months for the full effect to kick in. If they found a way to pull it off in that short a period, that'd be nothing short of a medical breakthrough. Either way I'm just going to wait a few days and see what the full reaction to that article is. May expose whether it is legit or not.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by nredman:
i think its great too....oh wait i am christian...guess i will stay in my wheel chair.

I was being facetious. The main opponents to stem cell research are conservative Christians.

[Kilbey]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
I was being facetious. The main opponents to stem cell research are conservative Christians.

No, the main opponents to federal money going to stem cell research which are derived from fertilized embryos is conservative Christians.

They are not opposed to federal money going into other types of stem cell research. Like baby teeth, adult stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells... yada yada yada...

See how you twisted the truth. I quote YOU.

Originally posted by olePigeon:
This was using "adult" stem cells taken from spinal cords.