Stem Cell Research Breakthrough

It appears that Bush's persistence on limiting funding for stem cell research has paid off. A new ground-breaking study by the scientists in Pittsburgh has revealed that adult stem cells have the same ability to multiply as embryonic cells do.

"Scientists have typically believed that adult or post-natal stem cells grow old and die much sooner than embryonic stem cells, but this study demonstrates that is not the case," said Huard, the senior author of the study."

I'm so comforted to know that this was simply a belief and it took this long to research the ability of an adult cell. The moral and ethical issues would not have been necessary had this been researched sooner. Nor would this have become a 'religious' issue.

"Nevertheless, the most successful therapies and experiments to date have involved cells that require no use of embryos."

Wow, really? I guess the idea never occured to anyone that maybe it should be tested before an embryo became the main target of the pro-"research" crowd.

"The research showed adult cells were able to match the the capacity of embryonic cells to live through more than 200 population doublings -- a method of measuring the age of a population of cells.

Now isn't it enlightening that once I die that I too can contribute to the continuation of scientific studies of life saving cures?

"Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune reported the announcement of research indicating that human stem cells taken from a patient's bone marrow may help in treating Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurologic diseases."

Wouldn't it be wonderful now if all of these people who have fought so hard for the continuation of embryonic stem cell research to go in and donate some of their bone marrow to help others? I doubt they would even consider this act of goodness as it is much easier to talk about doing great things.

"Bridget Deasy, a scientist in Huard's laboratory, found the post-natal cells were able to undergo population doublings while maintaining their ability to regenerate muscle in an animal model, a key finding indicating they could maintain their treatment potential. "

The cells of an adult can acheive the same things that an embryonic cell can? Yet, there has not been more than a whisper of whether or not this kind of research would provide the same results. Makes you wonder about the agenda of the pro-"research" people. Is it simply about getting their way?

"The researchers also found that, unlike embryonic stem cells, rejection by the recipient's immune system is not an issue with adult stem cells."

And look at that, something that may have been found in an adult stem cell that an embryonic cell doesn't have.

"At a meeting in Philadelphia Wednesday, Kiminobu Sugaya of the Chicago biotechnology firm NewNeural LLC said he has processed human stem cells into nerve cells and implanted them in the brains of aged, demented rats, improving their memories."

I guess maybe they should've figured this one out sooner in order to help all the aged, demented, people improve their memories as well, so they could remember that there are other ways in which to utilize the death of an adult that has had a chance to live. Why advocate the use of embryonic stem cells for scientific study when there are millions of people in this world who have already had an opportunity to live, spout their beliefs, fight for their rights, and cry because they can.