THat thing is gorgeous!!! How did you ever pick one??? Giraffe bone?? Mammoth ivory?? Thanks a lot for showing me that, now I have to have one. I kind of like the red/white commemorative one, or some of the fancy woods. Horn disturbs me for some reason.
Stem cells: (Just read this in NYT today...) The embryo is two days old, eight cells (known as blastomeres) not implanted. One blastomere can be (and routinely is) removed for diagnostic testing, such as for Down Syndrome. If the embryo has no defect, the remaining seven cells can be implanted in the woman. This has been done for ten years and many apparently healthy babies have resulted. The blastomere which has been removed for preimplantation genetic diagnosis can be later used to derive human stem cells from, without destroying the embryo.
To qualify for federal funds, the stem cells (if not from the lines that were established before 08/09/2001) must come from embryos which are not destroyed in the process or exposed to undue risk. The embryo which has one blastomere removed is, however, subjected to _some_ risk, but the resulting babies seem to be as healthy as other babies born by in vitro fertilization.
