Press Release
SOURCE: The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Ultimate Stem Cell Discovery Gives Extraordinary Promise to Researchers, Patients; Makes Cloning and Destructive Embryo Research Unnecessary
CHICAGO, Ill., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A researcher at the University of Minnesota has discovered what is being called the ``ultimate stem cell.''
According to the January 23rd breaking story on the NewScientist.com web site, the stem cells found in adult bone marrow has passed every test proving that it:
can form every single tissue in the body
can be grown in culture indefinitely, with no signs of aging
can be isolated from humans
do not form cancerous masses when injected into adults
If this research is confirmed, it offers extraordinary promise both to researchers pursuing cures and to patients in need of medical treatments. It offers a way to pursue needed research while eliminating any justification for ethically unjustifiable destructive human embryo research by making embryonic stem cell research and ``therapeutic'' cloning obsolete.
Upon hearing the news, Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity President John Kilner said, ``This comes as great news during this sanctity of life week-both for those who mourn the huge loss of unborn human life in recent decades as well as those who have challenging medical conditions. If confirmed, we no longer need to wait until human cloning becomes reliable-something that may never happen-to pursue therapies and treatments. The genetically appropriate, flexible stem cells patients need are right there in their own bodies.''
Center Senior Fellow C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D. agreed saying, ``This announcement is a palpable reminder that stem cell research is still in its infancy. We should only pursue research that is scrupulously ethical. This discovery will allay everyone's concerns about embryo-destructive research. There will be no possible justification for destroying human embryos for their cells.''
To see the New Scientist report, a link can be found on the Center's web site at www.cbhd.org .
SOURCE: The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity |
