I've used 293 cells my whole career, and my lab continues to use them on a daily basis. They are the workhorse of research biomedical tissue culture. When it comes to manufacturing, most antibodies are made in immortalized hamster cells, and viruses and vaccines are made in many systems from cancer cell lines to insect cell lines.
I can tell you that the 293s in my lab probably bear little resemblance to the cells originally harvested from that fetus 50 years ago. I'm sure that the differences (and all the good that's come from the cells) don't resolve the original sin of collecting them in some people's opinions, but it's an interesting mirror to the ongoing debate about statues and institutions in this country.
My company manufactures our gene therapy products in a 293 line. Our most advanced clinical programs are for fatal rare genetic childhood diseases. The kind of diseases that if they come up on a prenatal screen, some parents might choose to just abort. So there is an ethical brain teaser for you.
I can tell you that the 293s in my lab probably bear little resemblance to the cells originally harvested from that fetus 50 years ago. I'm sure that the differences (and all the good that's come from the cells) don't resolve the original sin of collecting them in some people's opinions, but it's an interesting mirror to the ongoing debate about statues and institutions in this country.
My company manufactures our gene therapy products in a 293 line. Our most advanced clinical programs are for fatal rare genetic childhood diseases. The kind of diseases that if they come up on a prenatal screen, some parents might choose to just abort. So there is an ethical brain teaser for you.