Stem Cell Research And Honey Boo Boo

My brain is atrophying at an alarming rate.

Just yesterday Carol asked me to replace the roll of paper towels on the sink. As usual she had taken the last sheet but was too lazy to get a new roll and install it in the dispenser so she batted her eyes at me and said "Honey, can you grab a new roll of paper towels and slam it into the fancy plastic holder we hold in such high regard?"

I am eager to please, just like a puppy, so I said "Of course, Darling."

I walked over to the sink and was distracted by the scene outside the window. Trees swaying in the summer breeze, chipmunks flitting about, birds zipping and zapping, the neighborhood black cat that torments our cats slinking across the lawn.

Twenty minutes passed with me standing at the sink and Carol finally asked me what I was up to. I said "Ooh look at the pretty birdies and the little chipmunks and how do the trees bend and look at the pretty kitty."

She gently guided me to the recliner and switched to Seinfeld re-runs.

So I decided I have to challenge my brain. I decided I needed to research two things to learn about tonight.

Stem cell research, baby. Holy confusion. Killing fetuses, not killing fetuses, scientists versus religious zealots - what and where is the truth?

Most stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. They are not derived from eggs fertilized in a woman's body.

This is heavy duty stuff no matter what angle you cock your head at.

So I am going to skip that debate and focus on the possibilities.

Serious medical conditions, like cancer and birth defects are due to abnormal cell division and differentiation, which is another way to describe cells with a specific goal or purpose. Stem cells start out as undifferentiated cells or free spirits and develop into cells with specfific goals.

So a primary goal of this research is to figure out how stem cells become the specific cells that form the tissues and organs. And to use that knowledge to fight back against the nasty cells that lead to cancer and birth defects.

Even though I have been been hearing the name Honey Boo Boo for a while now, I have had no interest in finding out what it is all about.

Such a stupid name. How could I possibly be interested?

Bill Maher has worked her into his monologue many times on his magnificent show so eventually I decided that if Bill Maher knows who this is, I should know who this is.

Honey Boo Boo is a 7 year old child beauty pageant participant who is featured on a reality TV show on TLC.

Are you serious?

The show features Honey Boo Boo, her mother, father and three older sisters and is mostly filmed in and around the family's hometown in (what a surprise) rural McIntyre, Georgia.

The family originally gained fame on a TLC show called Toddlers and Tiaras, which follows the lives of child beauty pageant contestants and their families.

The second season of Honey Boo Boo premiered on July 17, 2013 and featured a Watch 'n Sniff event. Watch 'n Sniff cards were distributed throughout the United States with each numbered scent card correlating to scenes in the second season premier episodes.

I do not understand how anybody can say this country is losing it's edge in the arena of innovation. We continue to push boundaries.

I swear to God I had no intent of linking these two areas of brain stimulating investigation I embarked upon tonight.

However, it occurs to me that a positive by product of stem cell research might be to develop cells that do not multiply to produce exploitative parents and could eventually lead to the demise of reality TV in it's entirety.

A goal like that is intimidating. In this country, more intimidating than eradicating cancer.