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To: Nietzsche who wrote (91335)	8/26/1999 1:50:00 PM
From: Ron	Respond to of 119973

Pretty major stem cell research update. Should be good for GRIN and ASTM: Stem cell research too important to delay - panel says: (Reuters) - Research on stem cells -- parent cells that can give rise to any type of cell in the body -- is too important to throw aside because of ethical concerns, the world's largest federation of scientists said on Wednesday. A report issued jointly by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the nonprofit Institute for Civil Society (ICS) says currently federal guidelines are sufficient for overseeing stem cell research. But the report adds that everyone should have a say in such a debate, even while the research moves ahead. "We share the enthusiasm of others that such studies will offer the real possibility for cures and treatments for many diseases for which adequate therapies do not exist," it reads. "To realize the potential health benefits of stem cell technology will require a large and sustained investment in research. The federal government is the only realistic source for such an infusion of funds." Researchers say stem cells can be used to grow tissue transplants to treat patients with diseases such as Parkinson's or diabetes, in testing and for basic biological research. Ronald McKay of the National Institutes of Health, one of the early discoverers of stem cells, said the research could open up entire new areas of medicine. "One has to be very careful about restricting peoples' ability to investigate. Why shouldn't somebody go and work with these cells if they work within ethical norms?" he asked. But some groups object to their source. Some stem cells come from adults -- found in the blood, brain and other tissue. Others come from aborted fetuses and some come from embryos left over from laboratory fertilization attempts. Embryonic stem cells are considered the easiest to manipulate and scientists say they may have more potential. Critics say deriving the cells from embryos destroys a potential human life. Current federal law forbids federal funding of research that might destroy a human embryo. The National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which advises President Bill Clinton on such matters, is poised to recommend that the law be loosened to allow federally funded scientists to derive such cells themselves. But the White House has said it would be happy with the current state of affairs, in which government-funded scientists can work with the cells if private labs obtain them. The AAAS report backs this view. "We came to the conclusion that the derivation or sourcing of these cells can be separated from their use," Ronald Green, a professor of ethics at Dartmouth College, told a news briefing. "A person could work with these cell lines in good conscience." Green said the issue could get bogged down in debate. "So in order to expedite research to get it moving forward within the existing framework and laws ... we need to separate it." Green pointed out that human embryos are discarded every day whether stem cell research uses them or not. Dr. Thomas Okarma, president and chief executive officer of Geron Corp GERN . , which funds stem cell research, said his company and partners doing research at the University of Wisconsin had cultures of the cells ready to ship to any federally funded researchers who need them. "The company and the university are ready to distribute these cells as widely as possible," he said. Audrey Chapman, a religious ethicist at the AAAS who helped write the report, said the debate over stem cells sometimes obscured the facts. "One of the major obstacles is how emotional people get. They don't listen and they don't learn," she said in an interview. "Many people who express a point of view don't understand the science and the law," she added. "Even in conservative religious groups, there are major differences of opinion among theologians and ethicists." REUTERS