M. Levin done very good job at MLNM (hope he will continue in future), so he may be a good addition to CTII board members. His knowledge and experience are of great value and it is a big + for CTII.
Miljenko
PS: News which relate to CTII embryonic stem cell work,
Subcommittee reviews embryonic cell research
NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters Health) -- Embryonic stem cell research may potentially lead to a cure for diabetes, a Harvard researcher told the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee at a hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
Embryonic stem cells, which are derived from human embryos at an early stage of development, could be directed to develop into insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells, the type of cells destroyed in those with type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, reported Dr. Doug Melton, chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University to Senator Arlen Specter and his co-members.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can give rise to many different types of cells in the body, and have the potential to replace cells that are lost, or in the case of type 1 diabetes, are destroyed by the immune system.
The cells could be potentially engineered so that they would not be recognized as foreign by a recipient's immune system and thereby "negate the need for immunosuppression" if they were grafted into the body, said Melton who spoke on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and as the father of a 7-year-old son with diabetes.
While he acknowledged the ethical considerations involved in embryonic stem cell research, Melton pointed out that the 1994 Human Embryo Research Panel concluded that "stem cell research involving 'pre-implantation' human embryos is acceptable for federal funding."
The panel's finding "provides a scientific and ethical basis to justify federal funding for human stem cell research," he said.
While stem cells can be collected from umbilical cord blood, those cells have become too differentiated -- or developed too far in a particular path -- to be used to create pancreatic islet cells, Melton said in a phone interview with Reuters Health. Stem cells found in cord blood can develop only into blood or immune system cells, he said.
Stem cells derived from embryos, however, could be used to develop pancreatic cells, he said.
"There are an enormous number of fertilized eggs that are thrown away as a result of in vitro fertilization." Melton commented. Such cells could serve as the primary source of embryonic stem cells in the early phases of research. And because stem cells are self-renewing, they can become a source for all types of research.
The Senate subcommittee was "extremely receptive," Melton said. "Senators Specter and Harkin recognize the blockbuster nature of this research and the technical restraints." They are also sensitive to the possible ethical concerns the research raises, he added. But this is not research that uses fetal cells, he stressed.
Is Melton optimistic that his hopes for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research will be realized? "I'm so politically unconnected, I don't know," he admitted. |
