The Peoples Forum
ANTI BUSH POLICY
We have a President, who has stated that he is for ‘protecting life, at all stages.’ Yet, he ships men and women, in the full bloom of their lives, to die and be maimed in a war in Iraq
Mark Zimmerman,
Duxbury, MA
Stem Cell
n : an undifferentiated cell whose daughter cells may differentiate
into other cell types such as blood cells
How are stem cell therapies developed?
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Dear Editor: Below, is my commentary on Stem Cells for consideration in the THE PEOPLES FORUM.
Those that have a debilitating or life threatening injury or disease view opponents of embryonic stem cell research as prolonging his or her suffering.
Certainly, parents of an ill child would welcome almost any therapy that could restore their child's health or save their child's life. And someone afflicted with Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig’s disease, would want a therapy, restoring his or her health and living a healthy life, here on earth.
Why shouldn't caring people be allowed to donate an egg cell, fertilized in a petri dish, leading to restoring a loved one’s health or saving a loved ones life?
We can only hope, that most lives are lived for the betterment of mankind. And in living a life, why should one persons beliefs be to the detriment of anothers well being?
We have a President, who has stated that he is for ‘protecting life, at all stages.’ Yet, he ships men and women, in the full bloom of their lives, to die and be maimed in a war in Iraq, but is not supportive of research in the war of ridding the world of terrible diseases? There seems to be hypocrisy here?
We know that clinical treatments cannot be developed without first doing the research. And no one should be over hopeful that a miracle, a scientific break through is ‘around the corner,’ but we must keep hope! America must develop cutting edge regenerative and reparative medicines
The belief and position of George Bush has and will continue to be an obstacle to hope.
In Iraq after 'combat was over,' the President had months to get the job done right. But he has waged war on the 'cheap', costing us lives and treasury. Bush in failing to fully wage war in ridding the world of terrible diseases, is again, costing Americans lives and savings.
George Bush cannot raise the flag in one hand, sending men and women off to die in an unnecessary war, and in the other hand, raise the cross and watch people die of diseases.
Such hypocrisy must not remain in the White House.
What is the Goal of Stem Cell Research?, We explored ways that stem cells might be used to repair or replace damaged tissues, as well as some of the challenges researchers face when developing new therapies.
Stem cell therapies aren't invented overnight. Each potential therapy starts out as a testable idea based on initial research findings. That idea must be followed up with rigorous research and testing in the lab, which can take years - or even decades - of work. Even if the therapy looks great in lab experiments, it will become a viable treatment only after it is proven safe and effective in human clinical trials.
From ideas to therapies: where do we begin?
The first step is to establish an experimental model - a laboratory-based scenario that simulates the way a stem cell therapy might work in humans. To be useful, an experimental model must possess these features:
* It must accurately reflect the biology of human stem cells.
* It must be reproducible, allowing experiments to be credibly repeated.
* It must be time effective, allowing experiments to be completed, analyzed and repeated within a reasonable time period.
Researchers use two basic experimental models to develop stem cell therapies:
1. Most preliminary experiments are performed using cultured stem cells grown in dishes. These cells come from human tissue samples or from model organisms such as mice or rats.
2. Refined candidate therapies are tested in animal models, such as mice and rats, before being used in human clinical trials.
Here, we'll see how researchers create models for preliminary experiments: cell "lines" that grow in the laboratory. A stem cell line is a continuously dividing population of cells obtained from human or animal tissues. Researchers use both embryonic and adult stem cell lines as experimental models.
Embryonic stem cells
Embryonic stem cell lines are established from embryos shortly after fertilization. To create an embryonic stem cell line, an embryo must be separated into individual cells. A single cell from the embryo is placed in a dish and provided with nutrients and growth factors that stimulate it to divide. The resulting cell line will continue to divide as long as it is kept in a controlled environment and provided with appropriate growth factors to prevent differentiation.
University of Wisconsin |
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PRO BUSH POLICY
Wouldn't it be great if celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen and Michael Moore could lend their time to raising money for Stem Cell research instead of trying to sway a presidential election in the direction they desire?
James T. Dodaro
Furlong, PA
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A vast majority of people in the United States and around the world acknowledge the need for, and potential benefits of, stem cell research, especially research beyond the existing lines.
The major flap seems to be centered on funding issues. While it is certainly true that the Bush administration has refused to provide federal funding for stem cell research beyond the existing lines, there are other funding avenues available.
States are able to provide funding. California and New Jersey, as reported in the news last week, already have plans in place to provide funding in the hundreds-of-millions of dollars for stem cell research.
Additionally, and probably more importantly, stem cell research can follow the example set by The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) by raising funds through privation donations. The MDA is almost entirely funded by individual and private contributors. According to the 2003-2004 Annual Report
"Revenue from the public totaled $175.4 million — an increase of $8.9 million over the previous year. Net proceeds of special events (including the 2003 Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon) set a $142.4 million record, while online giving was up more than 50 percent. Total revenue from all sources set another record — $201.5 million."
That's $201.5 million in the 2003-2004 fiscal year alone! A staggering amount of money donated to a good cause by sources other than the federal government. There are other examples of enormous fund raising efforts that can be used as a guide for stem cell funding, such as Live Aid and Farm Aid.
In all cases, these fund raising efforts are headlined by celebrities who wish to lend their name and time to raising funds for a good cause. Wouldn't it be great if celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen and Michael Moore could lend their time to raising money for Stem Cell research instead of trying to sway a presidential election in the direction they desire?
Currently, most embryonic stem cell lines are created using mouse embryos. Researchers are currently evaluating several other sources for embryonic stem cells:
Embryonic stem cells from IVF embryos. Human embryonic stem cell lines can be derived from embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Usually, fertilization occurs within a woman's body, but IVF technology has made it possible to carry out fertilization and grow embryos in the laboratory. This technology has made it possible for many otherwise infertile couples to have children. In many cases, however, not all of the embryos created will be used, and the remaining embryos are frozen and stored. These embryos are potential resources for scientific research.
Embryonic stem cells from therapeutic cloning. Embryonic stem cells can also be created by the same procedure used to clone whole organisms, such as Dolly the sheep. Because of its potential medical uses, this method for creating stem cells is called therapeutic cloning.
In this procedure, a nucleus from an adult donor cell is inserted into a recipient egg cell from which the nucleus has been removed. The nucleus provides all of the necessary genetic information, in the form of DNA, for a cell to function and divide. The resulting cell is then stimulated to divide as a zygote would, resulting in the growth of embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to the adult donor cell.
Therapeutic cloning might be a viable approach to growing an exact tissue match for a patient in need - if the donor nucleus came from the patient, the resulting embryonic stem cell line would be a perfect match.
Adult stem cell lines
Adult stem cell lines isolated from mature tissues are another excellent resource for research studies. Most research is performed using adult stem cell lines from model organisms such as mice and rats, since obtaining adult stem cells from humans can involve invasive surgical procedures.
University of Utah |
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