Stem cell research

There has been a lot of shouting about the new developments in stem cell research, namely the creation of cybride cytoblasts. Unsurprisingly various religious notables have been spouting off about 'human dignity' and 'playing god'. The particularly amusing shoutiness was about allowing MPs to have a free vote on the bill governing this very useful bit of science, the fact that all the religious MPs where not actually expected to vote their conscience, so much as be good little followers and do what the mother church tells them really shows the startling ability of the religious to honestly believe two mutually exclusive things at the same time.

I have a fairly personal stake in all this, my mother suffers from Alzheimer's, one of the conditions that they believe this sort of research may be able to help with. I try to keep my anger in check but there is only some many times i can hear someone say that a bundle of cells smaller than a pin head has more right to life than my mum before i feel my knuckles start to itch.

The enormous hypocrisy of defending the 'human dignity' of a cytoblast while at the same time failing to recognise the very real needs of the actually ill manages to sadden and sicken me in almost equal measures. I am not a supporter of unregulated scientific experimentation, at all times the gains must out way the losses and that is a very difficult line to follow, but in this case this really should be a no brainer.