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Stem Cell Evidence for Man's Original Immortality

Special to LifeSiteNews.com by a U.S. Professional in the Stem Cell Research Field who Prefers Anonymity

Why must I die?

The controversy over embryonic stem cells has encouraged us all to learn much more about cell biology than the brief review we received in high school. I now know that a stem cell is defined as a cell that is capable of replicating itself and developing into a variety of specialized cells such as muscle and bone.

While the debate has centered around stem cells obtained from an embryo, I have also learned that I too have stem cells, as do all animals, for they play a life-long role in replacing and repairing tissue. However, the most fascinating aspect of stem cells that I've learned is that they have the capability to live forever. In fact, scientists routinely create specialized lab environments that maintain stem cells indefinitely and they commonly refer to stem cells in scientific literature as "immortal cells".

So, this fact begs the question, if part of me is immortal, why not the rest of me? If scientists can routinely create an environment that sustains these cells indefinitely then why must I die?

To take it even a step further, shortly after conception, I was composed solely of stem cells, the same cells that scientists are so eager to obtain and experiment on. So, if I was at one point solely constructed of immortal cells, then I once had the potential of living forever! But why don't I?

Pondering this question from a Darwinist viewpoint provides few answers to my question. We all are familiar with the arguments put forward to explain some of the elements of our nature. Our advanced intelligence, for example, can be explained because select ancestors that exhibited higher intelligence were more adept at surviving and passing along their genetic material than their less intelligent primate cousins.

But in this paradigm, what more powerful avenue would our selfish genetic material have to replicate itself than to live and propagate longer than others. Would not a male that lives and breeds to 40 years of age dominate the genetic pool more than one that lives to 30?  In this model, the ultimate winner would be the first male that lives forever, for in time he could claim the entire species as his offspring.

Before you dismiss this thought as pure conjecture, don't lose sight of the earlier fact that biologically a part of us already has this immortal capability.

While I have considered many other arguments to explain why we don't live forever, I frankly keep coming up short of an answer. Leaving me with the same question as before, why must I die?

Note from LifeSiteNews.com: Enter Stem Cells into our Search to see numerous articles on the issue of stem cells

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