Baby teeth provide life-giving stem cells

[flying_blind]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=9001636

In future, children will not be putting their early teeth aside for the tooth fairy to collect, but putting them instead into a stem cell bank.
...
"Parents will want to store the stem cells found in the pulp inside these juvenile teeth in liquid nitrogen" says Dr Stan Gronthos, a haematologist at the Hanson Institute in Adelaide, South Australia. "That way they could be used to grow new teeth and perhaps even cure neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease."
...
Many delegates to the Sydney conference expressed optimism that cells extracted from the pulp of children's milk teeth would be more versatile than embryonic material, as well as more ethically acceptable.
...
The conference heard that this readily available and non-controversial source could be cultured into cells that mimicked nerves, or became dentine, bone or fat.

The technology to develop this source of cells into heart muscle tissue, or a range of beneficial blood components, is thought to be less than 10 years away.

[progressiveBadger]

1. That's great news! n/t

[BamaLefty]

2. Awesome!

[TahitiNut]

3. I just knew that damned tooth fairy was a robber baron!

:grr: A lousy quarter! :grr:

[Fleshdancer]

4. I always wondered why the toothfairy wanted old baby teeth

:) What an incredible discovery! Does this mean that we'll have to take our kids to the dentist and get the loose teeth removed? If so, the parents should give the dentist a dollar bill or however much a parent spends as the toothfairy and the dentist can put it in a little toothfairy envelope and give it to the child. :)

[patdem]

5. We all gotta arm ourselves with quarters and hunt down than damned tooth

fairy...tooth fairy indeed..was a doctor from acme university doing stem cell research...damn...foiled again!!!

[mzmolly]

6. Amazing.

My dh is a diabetic, so stem cells are of great interest.
Promising news.

[wildflower]

7. And this is one the RW wouldn't argue with, right?

I hope?

[Brundle_Fly]

11. OF COURSE THEY WILL

THOSE TEETH ARE STILL ALIVE!

WHO WILL DEFEND THE BABY TEETH!

YOU MONSTERS!

[GHOSTDANCER]

13. Whatchu talkin bout willis?

<>

[flying_blind]

15. "Eggsellent" n/t D'oh

[flying_blind]

14. On such a critical argument as this one is

I am

SO HAPPY

that my general philosophy about environmental matters seems to held true here (though the enviro dreams are being rudely awakened by reporting about gloabl warming...)

and that general belief/wish/observation

is that

everything that really matters works out for the better

in the long run

thanks to human progress

(alas, there are those Bastards of all $tripe$ who would have it otherwise... http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/ )

[meisje]

8. Who will be able to afford it????

It's $2 - $3,000 to have blood saved from the umbilical cord.

[Az_lefty]

9. Perhaps this should become part of childrens healthcare.

Of course, the Repugs won't go for spending money for that. After all, once the child is born they have no further interest.

[truthisfreedom]

12. people spend more than that on a rock garden.life is worth the investment!

i'd pay $3k to stop Parkinson's!

[Sara Beverley]

10. Really great news. I hope this research goes forward.

What a scoop!

[flying_blind]

16. Confession

This LBN was grabbed from freerepublic.com

(blush)

[flying_blind]

17. they have prurient LBN interests

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1294026/posts

if they weren't all missionary-only looooosers

they would not so frequently post this shit

...

keep your enemies closer....

[clydefrand]

18. But, but, but, don't you think saving your child's baby teeth

is unethical? It just can't be a culture of "life" cause it comes from teeth. Can't be right. God wouldn't want us to do that. We gotta suffer, damn it, before we can get into heaven!

[yardwork]

19. NOW they tell me!

Both my kids just grew out of their last baby teeth.

[flying_blind]

20. It's a rule, isn't it? n/t

[PartyPooper]

21. I wonder if "wisdom teeth" would work equally as well.

Some misguided right wingers just might get rid of their child's baby teeth before the child can actually make a proper / educated decision of his / her own self.

Just wondering.

:think:

[DemFromMem]

22. Our secret stash

My wife has kept all of our kids' baby teeth in a box well-hidden in our closet. I thought this was a little strange when my wife showed it to me, but, hey, now I'm glad she has.

[eleonora]

23. yes but they have to be kept in nitrogen, I think

Got nitrogen?

[DemFromMem]

26. Oh well

Well, all three of my kids still have a bunch of teeth to lose. Where do I get that nitrogen stuff? :-)

[Cooley Hurd]

24. The RW fundies will find a reason to oppose this...

...because they simply hate science.

Sad but soooo true.

[Igel]

27. Don't think so.

Reports have been out for a few years about various sources for stem cells. I've heard some clinical trials have been going on, and more than a couple people treated. Not always great success rates, but it's early, and some is better than none.

This has come up in a few threads I've seen since I've been in DU (almost a whopping 2 months); haven't donated, can't search and provide them.

RWers love it; whenever you say "embryonic stem cells", if you can avoid the "baby killer" response the other dominant response is "adult stem cells" or "non-embryonic stem cells."

[blondeatlast]

25. Wonderful! My son has one about to come out any time now.

Too bad we don't have the technology yet.

As one who could benefit from stem-cell research, this is very exciting news!