Obama to reverse limits on stem cell

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Obama to reverse limits on stem cell
12
Fri, 03-06-2009 - 9:33pm
Source: Obama to reverse limits on stem cell work

By BEN FELLER AND LAURAN NEERGAARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS





 
photo

 
In this Oct. 22, 2008 file photo, Theresa Gratsch, a Ph.D. research specialist, views nerve cells derived from human embryonic stem cells under a microscope at the University of Michigan Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

WASHINGTON -- Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama plans to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells.


The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis - research that crosses partisan lines, backed by such notables as Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve. But it stirs intense controversy over whether government crosses a moral line with such research.


Obama will hold an event at the White House to announce the move, a senior administration official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy had not yet been publicly announced.



Nor does Obama's change fund creation of new lines. But it means that scientists who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches.


The aim of the policy is to restore "scientific integrity" to the process, the administration official said.


"America's biomedical research enterprise experienced steady decline over the past eight years, with shrinking budgets and policies that elevated ideology over science. This slowed the pace of discovery and the search for cures," said Sean Morrison, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Stem Cell Biology.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1151ap_obama_stem_cells.html


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Fri, 03-06-2009 - 9:52pm
Elections have consequences.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2009
Fri, 03-06-2009 - 10:46pm
I am thankful for that.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 12:10am






Canadians make stem-cell breakthrough
In 'great advance' to research, scientists discover new technique that safely turns skin cells into stem cells, removing risks and complications involved in using the technology

OTTAWA -- Canadian researchers have discovered a new way to turn skin cells into stem cells with fewer potential risks to patients.


Their work removes major barriers to using stem cells, which have an endless capacity for self-renewal, in new medical therapies for people with spinal cord injuries or diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson's.


"We hope these stem cells will form the basis for treatment of many diseases and conditions that are currently considered incurable," says Andras Nagy, of Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. He is the lead author of a groundbreaking paper published online yesterday by the journal Nature.


Dr. Nagy and his colleagues are the first to reprogram human skin cells to an embryonic state without using a virus, collaborating on the new technique with Keisuke Kaji from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.



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Section A Front

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 12:12am

Hopefully the cells from z/e/f won't be needed/used for much longer (see my post above).

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 12:13am
I don't really understand that, either.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 2:12pm

I don't get it either, especially since there are apparently quite a few couples who wanted to donate the extra embryos that they have in storage.


But I guess under the past admin,


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 2:21pm

I responded to Opal's post with MHO.


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2009
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 2:26pm

Oh, ITA.


A close and much loved relative died in December from Parkinson's.


(It was exciting to read that soon embryonic cells from z/e/f

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 2:31pm

Care to elaborate?



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Sat, 03-07-2009 - 2:41pm

That's why it's so great that they have come up with other ways to create stem cells (as reported about in the article you posted).


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