X-Message-Number: 8456
From:  (Thomas Donaldson)
Subject: Re: CryoNet #8450 - #8453
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 12:29:06 -0700 (PDT)

Hi guys!

The reference to growing frog organs came from either SCIENCE or NATURE
for late May 1997 to the present. I saw it when I was scanning them for 
material to use in my newsletter (PERIASTRON) which will come out soon.

I decided I would not discuss this particular item in PERIASTRON. I will
go back and produce a reference for the next message. Frogs and salamanders
both have remarkable regeneration powers. One major development in work
with repairing human brains has been a swing (based on experiments, of 
course) toward believing that instead of not have similar powers at all,
mammals (and human beings) retain the same powers, but have them blocked
by other biochemicals --- which ultimately might be blocked themselves,
thus releasing an ability to regrow parts of brains etc. 

No doubt we'll eventually work out why this blockage evolved, but even so
means to control it are likely to prove extremely useful. And naturally
this is one of the issues I've been following in PERIASTRON.

As for cloning people just to become sources of organs etc, yes, that
could certainly happen. No technology exists that cannot be misused. I
myself would say that this simply means that we have one more thing
for police (and even ourselves) to do... just as we've added them
before. Transplantation may even become much easier, with recent drugs
and treatments which turn off immune attack on a particular transplant
without touching the patient's immune system in other ways. (The drugs
now used leave transplant patients with much weaker immune systems
than normal). It just might widen the availability of transplants, too
-- all the work with antigens (which of course led up to this discovery)
won't matter as much as it does now. Our lovely FDA, however, may 
prevent use of this drug for 6 years or so while it tries to decide
whether or not its safe.

			Long long life,

				Thomas Donaldson

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