Tag Archives | Michael Buratovich

Buratovich, Michael A. The Stem Cell Epistles: Letters to My Students about Bioethics, Embryos, Stem Cells, and Fertility Treatments. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2013.

Human embryos, it has been said, “have no muscles, nerves, digestive system, feet, hands, face, or brain; they have nothing to distinguish them as a human being, and if one of them died, no one would mourn as they would for one of us.” Consequently, early human embryos are being dismembered in laboratories around the world to produce embryonic stem cells, which, we are told, are the tools that will lead to the next quantum leap in medicine. Should Christians support such small sacrifices for something that might potentially relieve the suffering of millions, or should we vigorously oppose it?

Developmental biologist and professor of biochemistry Michael Buratovich was asked such a question (among others) by his students. This book contains his measured answers and provides support from the scientific literature to substantiate his claims. He shows that embryonic stem cells are unnecessary, since the renaissance in regenerative medicine is occurring largely without them. Furthermore, he sets forth the scientific and historic case that the embryo is the youngest and most vulnerable member of humanity, and that ones such as these are precisely those whom the Christian church worked to protect in the past—and should champion in the present.

Buratovich, Michael A. “Recent Advances on the Origin of Life–Making Biological Polymers.” Reports of the National Center for Science Education 31, no. 1 (2011).

Abstract: The creationism–evolution debate almost always comes around to discussions about the origin of life. The enormousness of the problem of how organic chemicals (those compounds
that contain the element carbon) reacted to synthesize biological molecules like proteins, nucleic acids, membrane lipids, and others, and how these self-replicated and assembled to form the first protocells, represents an attractive target for critics. In addition, the respectable degree of uncertainty that surrounds present answers to origin-of-life questions, and the large diversity of the proposed solutions, represent ample fodder for those who would question the validity of the entire origin-of-life research program. Consequently, creationists have said a great deal about origin-of-life research, and none of it is positive.

Buratovich, Michael. “The Origin of Eukaryotic cells.(Communication)(Report).” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith no. 3 (2007): 219.

Abstract: The cells of modern organisms come in two main structural types: prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Prokaryotic cells, which are represented by the eubacteria and archaea, contain precious little internal compartmentalization and have transcriptionally coupled translation, whereas eukaryotic cells, which compose plants, fungi, algae, animals, and a widely diverse group of unicellular protists, are equipped with a large cadre of intracellular compartments that are functionally specialized for specific intracellular tasks.