(Mods: Please consider not locking this story as a dupe. A previously-posted story on these cells being tainted does not put the issue at all in the context of Bush's stem cell policy.)
Study Says All Stem Cell Lines Tainted
By Karen Kaplan, Times Staff Writer
All human embryonic stem cell lines approved for use in federally funded research are contaminated with a foreign molecule from mice that may make them risky for use in medical therapies, according to a study released Sunday.
Researchers at UC San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla report that if the stem cells are transplanted into people, the cells could provoke an immune system attack that would wipe out their ability to deliver cures for diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes.
The finding is a setback to the Bush administration's controversial policy that provides federal funding only for research using embryonic stem cell lines that were created before August 2001. Evidence that all such lines are contaminated supports long-standing concerns among researchers that the lines eligible for federal money are insufficient to propel research forward....
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The stem cell lines allowed under Bush's policy came from embryos donated by couples who no longer needed them for in vitro fertilization. In his 2001 address, Bush said: "This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line."
From the start, however, researchers questioned the viability of the Bush-approved stem cell lines. The president said more than 60 such lines existed worldwide. About 20 lines proved usable, although concerns persisted about the techniques that had been used to create and keep them alive....
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http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-stemcells24jan24,0,1168342.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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