Going too far???

This article was in today's SMH entitled Mouse will have brain of Human while I find it completely fascinating how science has developed in such leaps and bounds in the area of cellular biology and biochemistry over the last 15-20 years, I cannot help but also be astounded and definitely appalled by how far we are prepared to push the boundaries of science. How far is too far? Where do we draw the line?

The jury is still out on the stem cell research debate. As a biochemist myself, I have my views and opinions about stem cells... they are a wonderful opportunity to manipulate and generate and re-generate other cells of the body, which give great hope and promise for the curing of many diseases... And this research does indeed hold great excitement. However as a Christian, I have both moral and ethical issues with how far this should go... I am categorically against the use/exploitation of embryonic stem cells for research... Yes i agree that these cells hold the most promise and potential for the development of critical cells.. but are we really in any position to determine if one human's life is worth trading for the hope of saving or prolonging another's?

I have no issues with experimenting on normal stem cells... as these are found in normal healthy adults. However with embryonic stem cells, the name says it all... to extract them embryos have to be destroyed... ie. murder....

now when it comes to articles about advances in science such as this, where we are transplanting human cells into animals for cultivation, I start to hesitate when we start to deal with brain cells... Why? you may well ask... aren't they just the same as any other cell in the body when it comes down to it? what's the difference between a liver cell and a brain cell?

I have no issues with transplanting and cultivating liver cells, skin cells, etc in animals like mice, pigs and monkeys... but brain cells are a totally different kettle of fish... the brain is in my opinion not like any other organ in the human body... sure when its lying on a bench dripping in formaldehyde it looks no different... but the brain acts as the bridge between our physical being, and our metaphysical being... no other organ is able to make the billions and billions of calculations that the brain is capable of every second... no other organ is able to control other bodily functions both physical and chemical like the brain does... no other organ is intimately connected with our personality, our character, our moods and emotions like the brain is... above all, i believe that no other organ is bridged to our soul and conscience like the brain is... for in the brain is where our mind resides... (this is itself another lengthy discussion/arguement, one i'll leave for a psychologist)

the article itself acknowledges this danger where we don't know if the mice will develop the ability to think or show "human-like behaviors"... i am troubled by, as the article says, "how much science can blur the distinction between man and beast."

As a Christian, I believe that Man was created different from the rest of the animals. Animals were created by the spoken word of God, Man was shaped out of the dust of the ground, made in the likeness of God, and had God's breath breathed into us (See Genesis 1&2).

Man was also commanded to subdue the earth and was given dominion over it. To me, to be dabbling and blurring the lines between man and beast is not living up to our responsibility of maintaining dominion over the animals, and is in fact throwing dirt in God's face... we are dangerously close to crossing the line where we are virtually taking our God given uniqueness for granted, and thinking that we have the right to start to "share" that with other beasts... effectively proclaiming ourselves to be God...

We are in effect, really creating another Tower of Babel are we not? I mean, let's stop hiding behind the guises of saying that we're trying to find a cure of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. What we're really trying to do is create a name for ourselves... to show how wonderful and intelligent we are... that we can create "life" from stem cells, or cloning, or giving animals intelligent thought! Are we not really just shaking our fists at God, showing Him, that we too can do like he does???

Where do we draw the line? We know that there are ethical issues with many of the experiments that we do, and we do not know what the consequences of them will be. And in part that is what drives us to further explore, and experiment to find out, in our never ceasing quest for knowledge and understanding... But sometimes we just need to admit that we don't need to know everything... sometimes it may be wiser to let things be left unknown an unfathomable, rather than play with fire and mess with God...

Sometimes its just better to let go and let God...