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AC · 12-02-2006, 02:47 PM

From http://www.curesforcalifornia.com

Does the federal government support stem cell research?

The government funds adult stem cell research, which has far less promise than embryonic stem cell research. However, limited federal funding is available for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush declared that federal money could only be used to study stem cell lines that existed as of August 9, 2001. There are several problems with this:

There are only 22 lines that qualify for this and less than twelve of these are easily available to scientists.

These cell lines are not diverse. They are derived from embryos of a certain profile of individuals (typically of similar ethnicity, educational background, income level, etc.) Diversity in the cells would help scientists better understand and treat many more diseases and individuals than they can with these limited cell lines.

These cell lines got their nutrients from animal cells and will never be safe to use in treatments for people.

Some of these cell lines aren't stable enough to be used

Researchers have described techniques for getting embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. Does this end the debate over embryonic stem cell research?

Not any time soon. It is true that teams of scientists have created two new ways to produce embryonic stem cells. Yet, their experiments were done in mice and each method raises practical and ethical issues of its own. Neither is likely to be ready for use in humans for many years.

We believe that scientists should keep looking for new ways to create stem cells without destroying embryos. They must not, however, be forced to stop or slow the most proven way to get embryonic stem cells - a way that is supported by a clear majority of Americans. To do that would result in losing critical progress in the fight against diseases and injuries threatening millions of lives.

12-02-2006, 02:47 PM	#125
AC Resident Videologist Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Calgary Exp:	From http://www.curesforcalifornia.com Does the federal government support stem cell research? The government funds adult stem cell research, which has far less promise than embryonic stem cell research. However, limited federal funding is available for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush declared that federal money could only be used to study stem cell lines that existed as of August 9, 2001. There are several problems with this: There are only 22 lines that qualify for this and less than twelve of these are easily available to scientists. These cell lines are not diverse. They are derived from embryos of a certain profile of individuals (typically of similar ethnicity, educational background, income level, etc.) Diversity in the cells would help scientists better understand and treat many more diseases and individuals than they can with these limited cell lines. These cell lines got their nutrients from animal cells and will never be safe to use in treatments for people. Some of these cell lines aren't stable enough to be used Researchers have described techniques for getting embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos. Does this end the debate over embryonic stem cell research? Not any time soon. It is true that teams of scientists have created two new ways to produce embryonic stem cells. Yet, their experiments were done in mice and each method raises practical and ethical issues of its own. Neither is likely to be ready for use in humans for many years. We believe that scientists should keep looking for new ways to create stem cells without destroying embryos. They must not, however, be forced to stop or slow the most proven way to get embryonic stem cells - a way that is supported by a clear majority of Americans. To do that would result in losing critical progress in the fight against diseases and injuries threatening millions of lives.