San Diego Union Tribune: President should lift stem cell restrictions

[question everything]

UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
Time to reconsider

President should lift stem cell restrictions

January 25, 2005

Citing fears of "crossing a fundamental moral line," President Bush decided in 2001 to restrict federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and confine it to what he said were 60 cell lines already in existence. Only about 20 lines actually proved useful, and now researchers at UCSD and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say these lines may be contaminated and likely would be rejected if transplanted into humans.

(snip)

It is hoped that one day stem cells will be implanted into human beings to produce cells to cure degenerative conditions such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries and severe burns. Embryonic stem cells are said to show the most promise because they can evolve into almost any cell in the body. Adult stem cell research also has shown promise, but those cells do not evolve into as wide a range of tissues and organs.

(snip)

Moved in part by the president's ban, Californians overwhelmingly passed Proposition 71 in November, setting up the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. It will spend $300 million per year – more than what the federal government spends – funding stem cell research in California, and the White House restrictions will not apply to strictly state-funded projects.

(snip)

But Washington should not leave it up to California or other nations to move ahead on stem cell research. Far too many people one day could benefit from it.


Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050125/news_lz1ed25top.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Heard on the radioSunday that all the lines in existence

that were approved in US are contaminated...so of no use whatsoever.

U.S. Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Contaminated
By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDayNews) -- In what could prove to be a setback for an already controversial area of research, scientists say all federally approved lines of embryonic stem cells are contaminated with a non-human molecule.

Because the human immune system typically seeks out and destroys cells bearing this molecule, therapies using the contaminated stem cells may fail, explained researcher Dr. Ajit Varki, a specialist in cell biology at the University of California, San Diego.

"Even worse, in the process of killing the contaminated cells, the patient might have a bad reaction," Varki explained. "It could be like receiving a bad blood transfusion."

The full details of the study are published in the Jan. 23 issue of Nature Medicine after being outlined to a panel of stem cell experts at the National Academies of Science in October.

more.........

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/01/23/hscout523