X-Message-Number: 23008 Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 03:37:14 -0500 From: "Kevin Q. Brown" <> Subject: Pet owners may save our lives In the Dec 2003 / Jan 2004 issue of MIT's "Techology Review", the page 18 article "Medicine Goes to the Dogs" by Michael Schrage points out that restrictions against stem cell, cloning, etc. research on humans do _not_ apply to pets. Furthermore, since there are plenty of pet lovers who are willing to pay for sophisticated veterinary treatments to save the lives of their dogs and cats, we should expect significant advances in veterinary biotech research using techniques not available to humans. In particular, once stem cell therapy reliably saves the lives of dogs and cats, it will be difficult to deny such benefits to one's dying children. His conclusion: "America's love affair with animals will slowly but inevitably undermine the religious, moral, and ethical arguments against genome-based therapies for people. Healthier cats and dogs will generate an irrestible demand for healthier children and adults." Or maybe I should say: "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". Kevin Q. Brown Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23008