Free Republic

Biotech company executives in the Bay Area met Tuesday to begin working with California's sputtering stem-cell research institute, which was jump-started last week by the $150 million boost it got from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. ``I feel we are at a very important point in history here,'' said Michael West, chairman and chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology of Alameda. He added that it was essential ``do do everything we possibly can to see that money is well spent.'' Still, the executives who met in San Francisco with officials at the stem-cell institute, created in 2004 when California voters passed...

President Bush's veto of a bill to ease restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem-cell research will hinder California's $3 billion voter-approved effort to turn stem cells into cures, backers of the state-funded research effort said Wednesday. Bush's rejection of the legislation -- his first-ever veto in his 5 1/2 years in office -- shows his continued support for those who oppose, on moral grounds, destroying human embryos to create stem cells in research intended to develop new treatments for grave conditions such as Parkinson's, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. --snip-- The veto was a crushing blow for advocates who hoped...

SACRAMENTO A day after President Bush vetoed a measure that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday authorized a $150 million loan to fund the state's moribund stem cell institute, which has been stalled by lawsuits. The move has distinct political benefits for the governor who is seeking to put as much distance as possible between himself and the deeply unpopular president as he seeks re-election this year. Schwarzenegger said the state cannot afford to wait to fund the critical science associated with stem cells. "I remain committed to advancing stem...

Oregon's two senators voted with the Senate majority Tuesday to overturn the president's limits on embryonic stem-cell research, setting the stage for the first veto of the Bush administration. "Please, Mr. President, don't veto this bill," said Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., noting that his family has a history of Parkinson's disease. "Such a veto, I fear, may only throw out hope, healing and human life along with the unused embryos." Sixty-three senators voted to allow federally funded researchers to conduct medical research on surplus embryos from fertility clinics. The bipartisan vote was enough to move the bill to the president's...

WASHINGTON - Debating science, ethics, morality and humanity, the Senate prepared Tuesday to send a bill expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to an unreceptive President Bush. It wasn't a matter of simple party politics, however, as some of Bush fellow Republicans launched a last-ditch lobbying effort to save the bill from his veto. Wrote California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Mr. President, I urge you not to make the first veto of your presidency one that turns America backwards on the path of scientific progress and limits the promise of medical miracles for generations to come." And former first...

SEOUL, South Korea - A discredited South Korean cloning scientist admitted in court Tuesday to ordering subordinates to falsify stem cell data for a paper in a scientific journal, but he insisted he should not be the only one blamed in the scandal. Hwang Woo-suk, who falsely claimed breakthroughs in creating stem cells from cloned human embryos, testified at the second hearing of a trial in which he is accused of accepting funds under false pretenses, embezzlement and violating the bioethics law by purchasing eggs for research. For a 2005 paper in the journal Science, Hwang acknowledged that he told...

Mice testicles yield 'ethical' stem cells * 16:22 24 March 2006 * NewScientist.com news service * Andy Coghlan Men’s testicles may provide an “ethical” source of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), suggest new experiments in mice. A team in Germany has successfully grown mouse ESC-like cells from spermatagonial stem cells which normally turn into sperm. The ESC-like cells can be grown into all tissues of the mouse body, suggesting that if the same could be done in men, it would provide patients with a source of tissue-matched cells for repairing any damaged organs or tissue. So far, all existing colonies of...

British scientists are seeking permission to create hybrid embryos in the lab by fusing human cells with rabbit eggs. If granted consent, the team will use the embryos to produce stem cells that carry genetic defects, in the hope that studying them will help understand the complex mechanisms behind incurable human diseases. The proposal drew strong criticism from opponents to embryo research who yesterday challenged the ethics of the research and branded the work repugnant. Plans for the experiments have been put forward by Professor Chris Shaw, a neurologist and expert in motor neurone disease at King's College London, and...

SEOUL, South Korea - A panel questioned stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk, sealed off his office and secured materials in his laboratory Sunday as it began a probe of allegations he falsified embryonic stem cells that he said he had created in a scientific breakthrough. Seoul National University began the investigation after Hwang acknowledged there were "fatal errors" in a May article in the journal Science claiming that he and other researchers cloned human embryos and created 11 stem cell lines that genetically matched certain patients. Scientists hope to use such "therapeutic cloning" someday to create tissue for transplant into...

As a South Korean scientist defends against mounting accusations that he falsified evidence in a breakthrough stem cell study, researchers in California said the controversy has caused significant damage to a promising and fledgling field. Doubts about Hwang Woo-suk's claims that he cloned human cells to create embryonic stem cells have made scientists wonder whether the prospect might remain elusive for years. Researchers and doctors hope to use this process to genetically tailor stem cells for patients suffering from such diseases as Parkinson's, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. "It's a black eye on the whole world of science," Richard Murphy, president...

Embryo cloning requires human eggs, which are typically donated by women in a process that requires a month-long series of hormone injections followed by a minor but not risk-free surgical procedure. Because of the modest but real health risks involved, researchers who perform the procedure are required to get informed consent from donors and fulfill other ethics requirements. For many months after Hwang's 2004 publication, rumors had spread in scientific circles that the eggs Hwang used to achieve that landmark result had been taken from a junior scientist in his lab. That situation, if true, would be in violation of...

Paraplegic breakthrough using adult stem cells Apparent major breakthrough with patient paralyzed 19 years Posted: September 28, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient. The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman who had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident. After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded: "The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after...

Fertility expert Lord Winston says the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research have probably been oversold to the public. He will warn in a speech on Monday that if science fails to deliver on some of the hype around the cells - as he fears will happen - there will be a backlash. He says the notion that a host of cures for serious, degenerative disorders are just around the corner is fanciful. Lord Winston believes some of the uncertainties need to be emphasised. "Both in Britain and America, huge publicity has been given to stem cells, particularly embryonic...

A team of Texas and British researchers says it has produced large amounts of embryoniclike stem cells from umbilical cord blood, potentially ending the ethical debate affecting stem-cell research -- the need to kill human embryos. The international researchers said the cells -- called cord-blood-derived-embryoniclike stem cells, or CBEs -- have the ability to turn into any kind of body tissue, like embryonic stem cells do, and can be mass-produced using technology derived from NASA.

Cell Lines, Moral Lines Research Should Expand -- With a Key Limit By Charles Krauthammer Friday, August 5, 2005; Page A15 It is a good idea to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. It is a bad idea to do that without prohibiting research that uses embryos created specifically to be used in research and destroyed.

Option to stem cells found Pitt experts say placental cells offer palatable alternative Friday, August 05, 2005 By Byron Spice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette     University of Pittsburgh researchers have discovered that one type of cell in the human placenta has characteristics that are strikingly similar to embryonic stem cells in their ability to regenerate a wide variety of tissues. The cells, called amniotic epithelial cells, potentially could be used to produce new liver cells to treat liver failure, or new pancreatic islet cells to cure diabetes or new neurons to treat Parkinson's disease. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which are obtained...

Ever since last Friday, when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced that he would support loosening restrictions on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, the “mainstream” media have become absolutely giddy over the prospect of George W. Bush’s bowing to political defeat on the issue.

Adult stem cells multiply reliably, Children's study finds Hospital's research indicates post-natal cells may work as well as embryonic Thursday, June 23, 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh announced today that they have discovered that adult, or post-natal, stem cells have the same ability as embryonic stem cells to multiply. Calling it a previously unknown characteristic, they said it indicates that post-natal stem cells may play an important therapeutic role. In a news release, the hospital said "adult and post-natal stem cells are often overlooked in favor of embryonic stem cells in the national debate over the...

Missing the Point: Federal Funding of Stem Cell ResearchMay 30,  2005  Medical and scientific ethics issues are in the news again, as Congress narrowly passed a bill last week that funds controversial embryonic stem cell research.  While I certainly sympathize with those who understandably hope such research will lead to cures for terrible diseases, I object to forcing taxpayers who believe harvesting embryos is immoral to pay for it.Congressional Republicans, eager to appease pro-life voters while still appearing suitably compassionate, supported a second bill that provides nearly $80 million for umbilical cord stem cell research.  But it’s never compassionate to...

May 4, 2005 Texas Thinks Hard about Stem Cell Research I would not have believed Texas could even consider state funding for embryonic stem cell research until I read this in the Dallas Morning News: One of the most important questions facing legislators in Austin this session is how to treat research that involves embryonic stem cells, which many scientists believe can help cure diseases such as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's, as well as spinal cord injuries and other debilitating conditions. Such research is in addition to ongoing research using adult stem cells, which are much more limited in supply....

From Sci-fi to Sci-Fact Panel Releases New Embryonic Stem Cell Research Guidelines by Sharon Hughes No longer just a plot in the movies, scientists can now merge species, such as Alba the florescent bunny. Not only that, but they can merge man and animals, man and machine, reproduce outside of the womb, and clone humans as well as their cats. To some these are exciting break-throughs in bio-technology, to others it's like a sci-fi thriller or nightmare. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, a 20-member panel picked by the National Academies, a Congress commissioned...

Olympia, WA (LifeNews.com) -- The governor of Washington state is joining the race to fund embryonic stem cell research -- even though such research has had no impact in fighting disease. Gov. Christine Gregoire has proposed a billion-dollar Life Sciences Discovery Fund for biomedical research, claiming that Washington state can become a world leader in the field. Gregoire is trying to sell the proposal by claiming that it could generate thousands of jobs. She's proposing using $350 million in bonus money that Washington is getting from a legal settlement with the tobacco industry. She would then use matching grants to...

San Diego scientists have identified a protein in embryonic stem cells that helps weed out mutations as the cells proliferate. Its action may protect a developing embryo from DNA damage that could lead to cancer later in life. The protein is called p53. The researchers, studying embryonic stem cells taken from mice, found that p53 prompts defective stem cells to begin changing into specific types of cells in the body. These defective cells started to show characteristics of neuron cells. Having crossed that threshold, they lost their ability to replicate indefinitely and pass along the mutations. "What we discovered is...

The Embryonic Jesus Story At this time of year, we focus on Christ's birth, but there is a fascinating incident the Bible describes near the beginning of Jesus' human life, several months prior. It is the Embryonic Jesus Story.Luke 1 tells about the first person besides Jesus' mother and earthly father who recognized He was extraordinary – Jesus' cousin John, while John was yet a fetus, and Jesus was but an embryo. When John was a preborn 6-month-old, his Aunt Mary came to visit John's expectant mother Elizabeth, her cousin. Mary was newly pregnant with Jesus. Luke 1:41 says when...

Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- On the heels of California voters approving a $6 billion measure to finance unproven embryonic stem cell research, Wisconsin's governor wants the Badger State to spend $750 million on the controversial science. Governor Jim Doyle announced plans Wednesday to use a combination of public and private money to conduct research that would destroy human embryos to harvest their stem cells.That money would build on the nearly $1 billion the state has spent on medical research facilities over the last decade."Other states, like California, are trying to play catch-up and build from scratch what we already have,"...

Californians came down on the side of stem-cell research Tuesday by passing a controversial bond measure that devotes $3 billion to human embryonic stem-cell experiments and comprises the biggest-ever state-supported scientific research program in the country. Proposition 71 was approved by a significant margin, NBC News projected.

Three Focus on the Family executives — including founder and chairman Dr. James C. Dobson — have signed on to an open letter to the American people stressing the importance of relying on biblical values in selecting candidates on Election Day. In addition to Dobson, Focus President Don Hodel and Vice President of Church, Clergy and Medical Outreach H.B. London Jr. also signed the letter. In all, it is endorsed by more than 80 ministry leaders, pastors and Christian professors from across the United States. The text of the letter follows: The Bible speaks to several ethical issues in...

WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 25, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops' conference has launched a nationwide two-week ad campaign highlighting the issue of stem cell research. The ads draw a clear distinction between embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of human life at the embryonic stage, and adult stem cell research. "Stem cell research is one of the most important moral issues of our day, but it is also one of the most distorted," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, a spokeswoman for the bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. "In the public debate, embryo-destructive research has been greatly hyped, while the proven...

HOUSES OF WORSHIP A Voter's GuidePro-choice candidates and church teaching.BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN J. MYERSFriday, September 17, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT Amid today's political jostling, Catholic citizens are wondering whether they can, in conscience, vote for candidates who support the legalized killing of human beings in the embryonic and fetal stages of development by abortion or in biomedical research. Responding to requests to clarify the obligations of Catholics on this matter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, under its prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, released a statement called "On Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion." Although it dealt primarily...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another of President Ronald Reagan's sons will have an opportunity to address a national audience at a political convention. Republican officials have confirmed that pro-life advocate Michael Reagan will speak at the upcoming convention in New York later this month. Last month, Ron Reagan told Democratic Party loyalists to "vote for embryonic stem cell research" in a speech that touted the unproven research. After President Reagan passed away, advocates of embryonic stem cell research piggybacked their message onto his death, saying that such research could benefit others who suffer from diseases such as Alzheimer's. However, Michael...

Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Not the Answer by Dr. James C. Dobson Senators pushing President Bush to relax federal funding restrictions should know their efforts are a sham. The truth is, adult stem cells offer the most promise for treatment of disease. We are profoundly disappointed to learn that 58 members of the U.S. Senate and 204 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed letters insisting that President Bush permit federal funding for research on living embryonic stem cells. Their demand, if implemented, would result in the deaths of countless human embryonic lives. Lowering that standard is also likely...

Papers have been flapping with new headlines about the latest in a long line of alleged dinosaur ancestors of birds. This one is claimed to be a sensational dinosaur with feathers on its hind legs, thus four ‘wings’.1 This was named Microraptor gui—the name is derived from words meaning ‘little plunderer of Gu’ after the paleontologist Gu Zhiwei. Like so many of the alleged feathered dinosaurs, it comes from Liaoning province of northeastern China. It was about 3 feet (1 meter) long from its head to the tip of its long tail, but its body was only about the size...

The President’s Decision is Based on Ethical PrincipleIn August 2001, President George W. Bush made a decision about the complex and difficult issue of the Federal government’s role in embryonic stem cell research. For the first time ever, he allowed Federal research funds to be used in embryonic stem cell research. The President’s decision was based on a determination that we should not cross a fundamental moral line by using Federal funds to encourage or support the destruction of a human embryo. Bipartisan Support for ethical treatment of human embryos: The principle that human embryos merit respect as a form...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In an editorial printed in Friday's New York Times, Reagan adviser William Clark said the former president would have opposed the use of embryonic stem cell research and the destruction of human life that accompanies it. "Ronald Reagan had not passed from this life for 48 hours before proponents of human embryonic stem-cell research began to suggest that such ethically questionable scientific work should be promoted under his name," Clark wrote. "But this cannot honestly be done without ignoring President Reagan's own words and actions," Clark, national security adviser and secretary of the interior under President...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading media watchdog group says journalists covering the death of former president Ronald Reagan are exploiting his passing in order to promote embryonic stem cell research. According to a report from the Media Research Center, news agencies are using Reagan's death to fuel a rift between President George W. Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan. "Serious people have serious disagreements about the balancing of the hope stem cell research holds for curing Alzheimer's versus the misuse of human life, but to leading media figures it presents just another way to bash Bush," says MRC's...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A study in mice indicates that contrary to previous thinking, a type of adult stem cell derived from bone does not give rise to new heart and brain cells when transplanted into the body. The finding that this type of stem cell might not be as medically beneficial as researchers had hoped likely will have a significant impact on the political debate over embryonic and adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have a proven capacity to regenerate damaged tissue and offer the potential of treating diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes. Some groups, however, oppose...

Cells from human embryos could be used to help some people with spinal injuries to walk again, successful work involving rats has indicated. Scientists from the University of California at Irvine college of medicine said that paralysed rats walked again after being injected with stem cells from "early-stage" human embryos. They hope that the breakthrough will prove to American policy makers that the use of human embryonic stem cells and therapeutic cloning - presently banned in the US - are justified. The team, led by Hans Keirstead, took stem cells from early-stage human embryos, and altered them in the laboratory...

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SAT SEPT 28 2002 14:02:38 ET XXXXX NANCY REAGAN WORKS TO REVERSE BUSH STEM CELL POLICY "A lot of time is being wasted. A lot of people who could be helped are not being helped." The words of former first lady Nancy Reagan on the issue of Bush's policy of limited stem cell research. MORE Reagan's secret campaign to reverse the Bush decision on the matter is outlined publicly for the first time in Sunday runs of the NEW YORK TIMES, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Mrs. Reagan believes that embryonic stem cell research could uncover...

When President Bush announced his decision on funding for stem cell research, he surprised the entire nation. The Left was expecting a purely negative decision, and they were all ready for another gleeful episode of bashing the anti-scientific Christian right. The pro-lifers and social conservatives were also expecting a purely negative decision, drawn along the line that all such research destroys very young human lives in order to extract potential benefits for older people. The President's eloquent and deeply thoughtful speech surprised both sides because it drew a moral line where neither side anticipated it. He drew the line between...

<p>Going where the federal government has stepped aside, Intel Chairman Andy Grove has pledged $5 million to help launch a new embryonic stem-cell program at the University of California-San Francisco.</p> <p>The money, the first step toward an ambitious $20 million fundraising goal for the university, will offer scientists unfettered access to this promising field of investigation -- and give UCSF's stem-cell programs a competitive boost in the hottest new field in biomedicine.</p>