Australian Senate OKs cloning embryos

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061107/ap_on_he_me/australia_stem_cell

Australian Senate OKs cloning embryos

By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer 38 minutes ago

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's Senate narrowly voted Tuesday to lift the country's ban on cloning human embryos for stem cell research.
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The bill, which was approved 34-32, would relax rules on stem cell research and allow therapeutic cloning of embryos for medical research. The House of Representatives still needs to pass the bill before it becomes law, but lawmakers had expected the Senate to pose the biggest hurdle.

Scientists hope stem cell research will eventually lead to treatments or cures for diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as spinal cord injuries, diabetes and arthritis.

The emotional debate on the legislation introduced by a former health minister, Sen. Kay Patterson, began Monday.

[Vidar]

1. Applauding Australia.

[Bear down under]

2. This is great news!

It will be fun to watch Little Johnny (aka Howard) coughing and spluttering in the morning. I bet he wishes he could make signing statements.

My tobacconist, a devout observant Jew and generally pretty conservative, made a pertinent remark this afternoon. "You know," she said, "it's astonishing how many of these pollies and opinion-makers speaking against stem-sell research suffer from long-term diseases like diabetes that this promises cures for. They're as big hypocrites as that preacher in America who got exposed last week."

Edited for spelling.

[HappyWeasel]

3. They're not gonna stop us now!!

We WILL have our medicine whether the neo-clowns like it or not.

[iverglas]

4. and the US will continue to fall behind in science and research

The CBC website is down; this is google's cached version:

Stem cell research centre attracts leading scientist back to Canada

Last Updated: Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Dr. Gordon Keller, one of the world's leading stem cell scientists, is coming back to Canada to head a new research centre in Toronto.

... Keller left his native Saskatchewan 16 years ago to work in the U.S. Earlier this year, New York magazine called the embryonic stem cell researcher one of the top six medical minds the city didn't want to lose.

As for why he's coming back, Keller cited the opportunity to work with leading stem cell researchers with a broad range of expertise in areas including biology, cancer research and organ repair.

... Embryonic stem cell research is controversial because the cells must be harvested from embryos. Under Canadian law, researchers must use embryos that are donated from couples — they cannot be created or cloned.

(Canada has recent legislation on various aspects of new reproductive technologies prohibiting human cloning, and the sale of human tissue; apparently this is not a brake on the research.)

The centre where he will work received a large private donation for start-up funding, but is part of the University Health Network, which is of course publicly funded in Canada. In the US:

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/faqs.asp

Can a scientist supported by federal funds conduct research with stem cell lines that are not listed on the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry?

No federal funds may be used, either directly or indirectly, to support research on human embryonic stem cell lines that do not meet the criteria established by President Bush on August 9, 2001. Cell lines not listed on the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry do not meet these criteria. Thus, research on lines (or their derivatives) not listed on the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry may not be supported by federal funds.

i.e. no new embryos, no matter how they are created, may be used in federally-funded stem cell research in the US. The existing cell lines are widely regarded as inadequate. And without federal funds, no serious research can really be done.

Who is responsible for setting the policy to allow federal money to be used for human embryonic stem cell research?

As the head of the executive branch of the federal government, which includes the National Institutes of Health, the President of the United States has the final responsibility and authority to set federal government policy for funding human embryonic stem cell research. But Congress has appropriations authority and can possibly override the President's decision.

One more reason for people in the US to be hopeful about the outcome of today's vote.

[xchrom]

5. oh goody -- somebody else will get to suffer the loonies outrage.

somehow the world manages to stumble forward -- in spite of social conservatives superstitious fucked-up ways.

[AusGail]

6. I feel proud to be Australian

but, if our nerdy Prime Minister had his way, we'd still be living in the dark ages.

[Anakin Skywalker]

7. Fundies Gonna Pop Their Veins! BBC Report Research for Cow-Human Hybrids.

And now this. What's a fundie to do, man?