Nervous System Article

Steve Stice is a University of Georgia stem cell researcher. He is working with the U.S Naval Research Laboratory, and has discovered a new way to use cells. Stice thinks his dicovery will help protect national security. He is researching to create a portable chemical weapons system, this could be used for homeland security or could help soldiers out on the field. Detection systems they have now days use nerve cells from mouse embryos. The problem is, "That mouse cells only last about two weeks before dying, and don't respond in the same way as human cells.", Stice said. Neural cells from humans last longer than four months. The detection device developed by Navy engineers, is on average the size of a carpenter's tool box. The cells sit on top of electrodes that record changes in electrical activity, indicating the presence of an outside agent, like nerve gas. What they want to be able to do, which might take a while is to be able to use the stem cells from aborted babies. I believe there is a pro and a con to this. People all over the world are aborting babies, which is tremendously wrong in my opinon, seeing that I am 16 years old with a baby boy. But, if there are going to be people out there who continue to do this then why not do something positive with the cells left from this awful tradgedy. If they do use them though, the con to this would be that it might encourage people to have a abortion, or just take some of the guilt away since it would be going to a good cause.