HS For Sunday 111807

Even Dolly Cloner Moving Away From Embryonic Stem Cells

Hey folks.

A little while back, also in the Health and Science Segment, on June 10, 2007, More Evidence, The Need Of Embryonic Stem Cells NOT Needed. I posted this.

In a leap forward for stem cell research, three independent teams of scientists reported Wednesday that they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice using skin cells without the controversial destruction of embryos.

If the same could be done with human skin cells — a big if — the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos.

Break,,,

The new work builds on a landmark paper Yamanaka published last August. He found that by slipping four genes into mouse skin cells called fibroblasts, he could make the altered cells behave much like embryonic stem cells in lab tests.

On July 20, 2007, in Stick Your Finger In The Air. I posted this.

"Stem cells taken from umbilical cords are already being used in research and are saving lives. Approximately 8,000 patients have received cord blood treatments for over 70 diseases, including Leukemia, Sickle Cell Anemia and Hurler disease in the last two years alone. With a proven track record such as this, it is imperative that the federal government continue to support this innovative, life-saving program.

The NCBI -- created in 2005 -- now gives us the opportunity to turn medical waste into medical miracles. Without passage of this amendment, the current grant recipients would need to dramatically scale back their cord blood banking initiatives just as they're ramping up to treat more patients. However, by appropriating the full $15 million, we can triple this year's collection number

Surely we can accommodate an $11 million shift -- the net effect of my amendment -- to a proven regenerative medical treatment that will mitigate -- even cure -- a myriad of diseases including leukemia and sickle cell anemia.”

I believe we can as well. This is GREAT news. Well, for sane people. Look folks, as I pointed out several times in the past, embryonic stem cell research has not produce any cures or treatments. Cord blood and other adult stem cell research already have resulted in clinical treatments without requiring the destruction of life.

Well, NOW we have another Breakthrough, According to the AFP- Dolly the Sheep pioneer drops cloning with embryos: Telegraph

A British scientist who led researchers who created Dolly the Sheep is to abandon cloning using embryos for a rival method which makes stem cells without them, the Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

Professor Ian Wilmut, of Edinburgh University, gained celebrity but also attracted criticism from some religious groups and pro-life campaigners after being involved in the cloning of the first mammal from an adult cell in 1996.

But now he has decided against pursuing a licence to clone human embryos which he was awarded two years ago in favour of a method pioneered by Professor Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, Japan, who has managed to create stem cells from fragments of skin in mice without using embryos.

Yamanaka is now believed to have done the same with human cells, the paper reported.

“I decided a few weeks ago not to pursue nuclear transfer (the method by which Dolly the Sheep was cloned,” Wilmut told the paper.

He added that the new concept was “easier to accept socially” as well as being “extremely exciting and astonishing”.

“Before too long, we will be able to use the Yamanaka approach to achieve the same, without making embryos,” he said.

Some scientists say that the overall success rate of the method used on Dolly the Sheep is too inefficient to be used in humans, particularly given the difficulties of obtaining eggs.

The United States has restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research, while President George W. Bush has vetoed a bill seeking to encourage it, saying it violated the sanctity of human life.

So WHY are there STILL some that WANT Embryonic Stem Cell Research? Simple, the Liberal Activists had linked this to Abortion. If we outlaw the failed and useless Embryonic Stem Cell research, they feel we in essence, are saying that the Embryos ARE living people, which they are, and they feel that this will lead to an outright Abortion ban. If we continue to look at Embryos as nothing more than something that we create and part of medical research and procedures that could possibly help someone “Walk” again, or cure major Diseases, then they are NOT people, and the Woman’s {Non-existent} right to do whatever she wants with it, is preserved.

Too bad that while we are seeing MAJOR breakthroughs in different areas of Stem Cell Research, those that claim to have nothing but the best intentions in humanity, are BLOCKING and HINDERING that progress, to further an agenda. They are clinging to a failed and incredibly FLAWED hypotheses, instead of doing the right thing. That would be, abandon Embryonic Stem Cell research, and divert the funds for that, to areas that DO and HAVE shown progress.
Peter

Sources:
OPNTalk - H.S. More Evidence, The Need Of Embryonic Stem Cells NOT Needed
OPNTalk - Stick Your Finger In The Air
AFP - Dolly the Sheep pioneer drops cloning with embryos: Telegraph

H.S. More Evidence, The Need Of Embryonic Stem Cells NOT Needed.

Hey folks,

This is good news that will all but be erased from the news. That’s right, a new breakthrough and more evidence that this bunk about the NEED to kill babies to get their Stem cells is just that, BUNK!

According to The AP -Teams mimic stem cells using skin cells By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science WriterWed Jun 6

In a leap forward for stem cell research, three independent teams of scientists reported Wednesday that they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells in mice using skin cells without the controversial destruction of embryos.

If the same could be done with human skin cells — a big if — the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos.

NO ONE would have a problem with this. Well, almost no one. I’m sure the Liberal would still have a problem with it. Even if NOT needed, they will fight for the continuation of embryonic stem cell research, because in their warped little minds, they would see a doing away with this equal to an attack on the fictitious "Women’s right to Chose."

Experts were impressed by the achievement.

"I think it's one of the most exciting things that has come out about embryonic stem cells, period," said researcher Dr. Asa Abeliovich of Columbia University in New York, who didn't participate in the work. "It's very convincing that it's real."

But he and others cautioned that it will take further study to see whether this scientific advance can be harnessed for creating new human therapies. For one thing, the procedure used to get the mouse skin cells to mimic embryonic stem cells wouldn't be suitable. And it's simply not known whether the mouse results can be reproduced with human cells.

Of course it will, as long as they can get the funding. Fight NOT being shut down by pro-choice activist scenists.

"We have a long way to go," said John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University, a stem cell researcher who also wasn't involved in the new work.



In any case, scientists said, the advance does not mean that research that involves getting stem cells from human embryos should now be abandoned. "We simply don't know which approach ... will work the best," said researcher Konrad Hochedlinger of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who led one of the three teams.

{Laughing} Can you say CYA?

Embryonic stem cells are prized because they can develop into all types of tissue. So experts believe they might be used for transplant therapies in people who are paralyzed or have illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.

To harvest human embryonic stem cells, embryos must be destroyed, an action many people oppose.

There IS NO evidence that embryonic stem cells will do ANY OF THIS! Adult stem cells have shown more promise.

Scientists have long hoped to find a way to reprogram ordinary body cells to act like stem cells, avoiding the use of embryos altogether. The new mouse studies seem to have accomplished that. Past experiments seeking alternative routes to getting stem cells have generally involved tampering with an embryo or egg.

At a press conference Wednesday, Hochedlinger and a member of a second team said their work was not an attempt to evade the ethical objections to embryo destruction. Instead, they said, the goal was to learn how cell reprogramming works.

But in a telephone interview, a prominent critic of embryonic stem cell research welcomed the new work on ethical terms.

"This is what we were looking for people to explore because it may provide all the advantages of embryonic stem cells without the moral problem," said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "So I'm very encouraged."

As well we ALL should be.

Hochedlinger and colleagues present their work in the inaugural issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. (The first word in the journal's name refers to its publisher, Cell Press).

The other two teams reported their results Wednesday on the Web site of the journal Nature. Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass., is the senior author of one paper, and the work behind the other paper was led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan.

The new work builds on a landmark paper Yamanaka published last August. He found that by slipping four genes into mouse skin cells called fibroblasts, he could make the altered cells behave much like embryonic stem cells in lab tests.
And did you hear anything about that?

But these so-called "iPS" cells still showed significant differences from embryonic stem cells. The three new papers report on creating iPS cells that proved virtually identical to stem cells in a variety of lab tests.

The technique used in the mouse studies could promote cancer in any patients getting therapy based on iPS cells, so researchers emphasized that a new approach that avoids that hazard would have to be developed.

Gearhart called that a major issue to be resolved. In addition, he said, scientists still must show that these cells can give rise to many cell types in the lab, as embryonic stem cells can.

What are the side effects of embryonic stem cells? You know, besides the death of an innocent life? Where is the science that they actually WORK? There is none. Of course we have a long way to go. But let’s take the journey.

And all this must be accomplished in human cells — a difficult task, he said, because introducing genes into human cells is a major challenge.

If the technique can be harnessed for people, the iPS cells and the tissue they develop into would provide a genetic match to the person who donated the skin cells. That would make them suitable for transplant to that person, theoretically without fear of rejection.

Yes folks, this is GREAT news, to bad you will not hear much about it in the Main Stream Press. They have an agenda remember.
Peter