Posted on 08/01/2006 4:21:08 PM PDT by wagglebee
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Two leading British scientists say that any potential cures from embryonic stem cell research are many years away, if they ever occur. They said that some of the hoopla created by the media and lawmakers who want to fund the controversial research has distorted the public view of it.
Professor Colin McGuckin, a specialist in regenerative medicine at the UK's Newcastle University, says the potential for embryonic stem cell research to cure diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease had been exaggerated.
"What we're going to see is one or two patients being helped in some way and people are going to hail it as the end of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's," McGuckin told CNN.
"But it's going to be a slow process. We hear an awful lot of hype about what stem cells can do but in reality there's still a lot of work to do," he added.
McGuckin said that it was more likely that stem cell research would have a beneficial effect for those suffering from disorders affecting major organs, such as those with heart or liver disease. Adult stem cells have already shown some progress in those areas.
He also told CNN that money for science is being mismanaged and that more funds are needed to tackle basic problems rather than for speculative fields like embryonic stem cell research.
"The thing that kills lots of people in the Third World is infection -- and putting millions into stem cell research isn't necessarily going to help us treat infectious diseases which kill millions of people," McGuckin said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Stephen Minger, Director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at King's College in London, told CNN that considerably more "fundamental research" is needed before embryonic stem cells are ever close to actually helping patients.
"We don't want to create false expectations that these therapies are just around the corner," he explained.
The "potential" is at best theoretical and all of the evidence indicates that it is non-existent.
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This is a great article!
It will take more embryos than what available even in cold storage now to see result. Will the call go out to provide embryos in the future to keep the research going?
Emphasis on "if ever."
Yes!!
There have been 72 breakthroughs with adult and umbilical stem cells and ZERO results with embryonic stem cells. Simple logic would dictate abandoning ECS research in favor of adult and umbilical stem cell research.
I disagree. Yes, the potential is theoretical, but the probability is high that the theoretical potential will eventually yield real treatments and cures.
The problem is that embryonic stem cell research is being conducted in a manner that is far from scientific. Instead of studying the basics of embryonic stem cell differentiation, using non-human tissues and subjects, proponents of the research have decided to take a short cut by using human tissue and subjects.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell research have decided that the best bang for their buck will be realized by using human tissue. They aren't trying to understand embryonic stem cells. They're trying to be the first to stumble onto a cure.
Solid science wouldn't have much trouble garnering private research dollars. It wouldn't even be that expensive or morally ambiguous since the proper approach wouldn't require large, comprehensive research projects using human embryos. The approach most likely too attract private funding is the approach that adult stem cell research took, which involves working primarily with non-human materials, and building protocols to achieve predictable results - before beginning human trials.
Embryonic stem cell research is being set back by quacks who are in it for the glory and the fame. They want to turn the Federal research grants into something like the Foundation for the Arts.
I have no problems with Federal research funding going to fund embryonic stem cell research on non-human subjects. In fact, I encourage it. Human embryonic stem cell research, however, is not justifiable without establishing viability first.
It must have been difficult for the MSM to turn a blind eye to all the breakthroughs with adult stem cells. Maybe some enterprising CNN reporter will now feel free to earn a living by spreading news of the successes with adult stem cells.
I don't mind embryonic stem cell research. Just don't do it on my dime.
A humble attitude would have helped some of the ESC researchers, too.
I am opposed to it for moral reasons, but that aside, private groups are reluctant to pursue it for the simple fact that it is a lousy investment.
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