Thread: Science Science is Cool....
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Old 02-02-2013, 02:19 PM   #543
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cephalic Trauma View Post
First source isn't very informative at all. He basically says because we have the ability to differentiate at the embryonic level, and adult SC's can be manipulated into the differentiation process of embryonic SC's and used for the treatment of spinal cord damage, and these hydra have a similar process without manipulation, that we could "learn some basic things" about it.
That guy basically provided a muddy parallel without linking the two. he didn't really provide any evidence for his soft conclusion.

Second one comes from a much better source. What they are basically saying, however, is we can use them as model organisms for the process. We have several model organisms in genetics, but that does not mean we can adopt their characteristics into our genetic functional repertoire and call it good. There are far more steps involved in that.

Similar genome does not mean we have similar processes. Suffice it to say that it's far more complicated, and gene therapy has many obstacles. Promising, but many obstacles.
The bolded is the entire point. I wasn't making any specific claims beyond that. Similar processes aren't exactly necessary for understanding the underlying processes. We currently introduce DNA from all sorts of different plants, animals, and even bacteria, into other plants, animals, etc., that otherwise have little to nothing in common. For example, we now introduce E. Coli DNA along with mouse DNA to hog embryos strictly to reduce the hog's phosphorus output, making them much more environmentally friendly. We introduce scorpion venom DNA into cabbage, to produce cabbage that has a natural resistance to pests. These are only a few examples.
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