Superman died.

[Batman Jr.]

Yes I did. I've also seen articles that show they're getting around many of the limitations... adult stem cells have shown a lot more versatility than at first thought.

Show us those articles so we can all assess exactly how "versatile" those multipotent stem cells really are and if they are really to be considered a suitable substitute for the unrestrainedly mutable embryonic stem cells.

 

[corplinx]

And one day, federally funded fetal stem cell research may bring him back from the grave.

I wonder if death will stop political exploitation of his tragedy?

Sadly, politicians exploited his death yesterday to push their agenda. I hope they all fall off horses too.

 

[Megalodon]

I 'advocated' no such thing. If a treatment exists, by all means use your money to get it. Just don't tell me about it.

Either you are avoiding the argument I made or it passed over your head. Either way, it's not flattering to you...

Reeve, of course, wasn't trying to get some magic treatment that wasn't available in the US. He was 'raising awareness' about being a quadraplegic. And he had zero to add to the discourse, unless you count 'being a quadraplegic sucks even if you're a celebrity!' a meaningful issue.

I made a simple analogy for your benefit. Apparentely it had to be simpler...

Let's try it again:

If somebody as a problem, he can do whatever he damn pleases to (legally) solve it.

To claim (or to defend, or agree with or whatever you prefer to call it) that a movie star shouldn't use their celebrity - their greatest asset - to find a solution for their problem is moronic. Specially if your argument boils down to the "why didn't they raise awareness before it struck them?" idiocy.

I don't think you should idolize stars, but to demonize them is equally moronic.

That's funny. He's done nothing to advance medical science.

People can advance anything in different, yet complementary ways.
In this case he did help advance medical science, by raising awareness of the problem, the irrational political agenda on embryonic stem cell research , and the need for funding.

He started a foundation that directly funds research.

The fact that you don't acknowledge even that shows you to be either an ignorant or a... let's settle for ignorant...

Is his death more tragic than that of any other? No it's not.

Was it a loss for medical science and stem cell research? Definetly.

 

[Segnosaur]

Show us those articles so we can all assess exactly how "versatile" those multipotent stem cells really are and if they are really to be considered a suitable substitute for the unrestrainedly mutable embryonic stem cells.

Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor... I'm just following up some a few references that were posted in non-technical literature.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=0cd96463785202ab6d57e2faf1ed90ab Recent studies have shown that cells from bone marrow (BM), muscle, and brain may have greater plasticity than previously known.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12433693&dopt=Abstract It was recently reported that crude bone marrow cells have the ability to differentiate into glomerular mesangial cells

http://www.grg.org/StemCellNature.htm Another team has compelling evidence that they have isolated a stem cell from adult human bone marrow that can produce all the tissue types in the body

 

[varwoche]

What's the statute of limitations for tasteless jokes?

 

[Mr Manifesto]

What's the statute of limitations for tasteless jokes?

Depends. Are you a space shuttle astronaut, or a crippled celebrity?

Or... Worse yet... Princess Diana... Damn, there was something in the water the day she died...

 

[Suddenly]

What's the statute of limitations for tasteless jokes?

Are you curious about whether you can tell the mid 90's classic joke about what is the difference between Christopher Reeve and O.J. Simpson? It isn't quite as cynically funny now that the verdict has been in for years, but recent events have brought it to mind...

I say wait at least 24 more hours. To tell a tasteless joke now would be very uncivil...

 

[BPSCG]

Or... Worse yet... Princess Diana... Damn, there was something in the water the day she died...

I think that was a reaction to the insane, over-the-top grief on display. People sobbing that this was the worst thing that had ever happened. "I didn't feel this awful when my Mum died..." (thanks for that juicy little vignette of your pathetic life). The funeral that outdid even Churchill's for emotional violence.

What observor could be so stonehearted as to see that and not be moved to mockery?

Apologia to any of the Queen's subjects here: I have exactly the same reaction to people who make pilgrimages to Elvis Presley's grave.

 

[varwoche]

Are you curious about whether you can tell the mid 90's classic joke about what is the difference between Christopher Reeve and O.J. Simpson? It isn't quite as cynically funny now that the verdict has been in for years, but recent events have brought it to mind...

I say wait at least 24 more hours. To tell a tasteless joke now would be very uncivil...

C'mon Suddenly, no recycles here... all original material all (most!) of the time. (23:59:10, 23:59:09...)

 

[BPSCG]

C'mon Suddenly, no recycles here... all original material all (most!) of the time. (23:59:10, 23:59:09...)

Hey, it's tomorrow already, somewhere...

 

[varwoche]

How is it that Superman...

... came to look like Lex Luthor...

Have they been seen in the same room at the same time?

 

[Sandy M]

Christopher Reeve financially and personally was involved in many charitable causes long prior to his injury, even long before he became a "star". Obviously, he was fairly low key about it, since so few here seem aware of it. So, in his condition after the accident, he became focussed more on stem cell research. This is bad? It's not as though he would have been the only one to benefit if some real breakthrough had been made prior to his recent death.

Secondly, as a former "eventer" I certainly deplore the tone of the article regarding the actual accident. I"m sure I could say something equally snide about NASCAR deaths if I wanted to be nasty. It certainly misrepresents the truth of the sport which Mr. Reeve so enjoyed, his love of his horse (Soon after his accident he was saying, don't blame the horse, it was just an accident, my fault...), and misrepresents what actually happened. But then, I never expect non-riders to have the least grasp of such things, so I guess it's to be expected.

 

[thaiboxerken]

I think what I really admire about Reeve is the fact that, even after his accident, he still was not religious. I don't know if he is deist or atheist, but he certainly didn't believe in a god that interacted with the universe.

 

[SlippyToad]

I can't imagine what it must be like to be confined to a wheelchair in mid-stride as it were.

I have a friend who can, since he has been in one for about 15 years now...and he is of the opinion that Reeves could have done a lot to help research on reversing spinal cord injuries *before* he had his accident.

Just his opinion of course.

Well, there are a million debilitating illnesses that Reeve could have gone after. Trouble is, most people, including celebrities, aren't really aware of tragedies that don't personally affect them. I'm sure those of you non-diabetics out there don't run around all the time looking at all the cokes and cookies and cake you can't have because if you do your eyes will eventually go bad, and your feet will turn into blackened supperating chunks of cheese-textured, ruined flesh . . . well, in extreme cases, anyway. But I am, because I run that risk if I let my blood sugar get out of control.

Similarly, there are millions of people who don't have ALS, or Crohn's disease, or glaucoma. We only think about these things when they come to visit us personally. So mouthing off about how poor Chris Reeve only cared about paraplegia because he became one is really irrelevant. Do you run around trying to whip up interest in every one of a thousand fatal or debilitating conditions? If not, then I suggest you hold your tongue. Reeve reportedly contemplated suicide immediately after his accident, as many paraplegics do. That he didn't took a lot of courage that I'm sure none of the able typists on this board (including myself) know anything about, because you won't until it happens to you.