STEM Cell Research at Sick Kids

[Durgan]

STEM cell issue is very much in the political arena in the USA, and is lurking in Canada. It has the potential of being as controversial as the abortion issue.



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$5.1-million stem-cell gift for Sick Kids
CAROLYN ABRAHAM

From Monday's Globe and Mail

A Canadian donor who wishes to remain anonymous has quietly given Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children $5.1-million to fund a promising, yet controversial program into stem-cell research.

The gift, to be spread over five years, will back a three-pronged research effort on stem cells from adults, those involved in cancer, and the most contentious area, stem cells from human embryos.
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Wonderful news. This Stem Cell research should be pursued with full vigor. It has some potential to alleviate a lot of misery if theory is matched with results. This area needs full exploration, funding and liberal regulations.

Durgan.

[Durgan]

Not Quite.

Stem cell researchers reacted with enthusiasm and reservations to a report that scientists have found stem cells in amniotic fluid, a discovery that would allow them to sidestep the controversy over destroying embryos for research.

Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported Sunday that the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells.

They reported they were able to extract the stem cells from the fluid, which cushions babies in the womb, without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone.


But Dr. Anthony Atala, head of Wake Forest’s regenerative medicine institute and the senior researcher on the project, said the scientists still don’t know exactly how many different cell types can be made from the stem cells found in amniotic fluid. The scientists said preliminary tests in patients are years away.
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Durgan.

[sasquatch]

Oh well, it should be enough to keep the fetus-worshippers at bay for now.