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On 23 Feb 2001, at 3:50, Sid Levin wrote: > In a message dated 2/22/01 Edith Love writes: > > Just to let you know that I sent copies of the Laureates' Letter to > my > senators and my representative. I added an introductory > paragraph. > E of the headdress >> > > Edith, what a wonderful idea. We should ALL of us do the same. > especially where the Senator or Congressman vacillates. How about it? > Can someone get a copy of the letter on this net for all of us to see > and follow up with! I'm ready. I got rid of my 33 cents stamps finally > and can go first class with only one stamp again. Hoorah. One of Life's > little victories Sid Levin Okay Sid, one more time.... murray ************ Nobel Laureates' Letter to President Bush Eighty Nobel laureates were among those who signed a letter to President Bush urging funding for research on human embryo cells. To the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States We the undersigned urge you to support Federal funding for research using human pluripotent stem cells. We join with other research institutions and patient groups in our belief that the current National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines, which enable scientists to conduct stem cell research within the rigorous constraints of federal oversight and standards, should be permitted to remain in effect. The discovery of human pluripotent stem cells is a significant milestone in medical research. Federal support for the enormous creativity of the US biomedical community is essential to translate this discovery into novel therapies for a range of serious and currently intractable diseases. The therapeutic potential of pluripotent stem-cells is remarkably broad. The cells have the unique potential to differentiate into any human cell type. Insulin-producing cells could be used to treat - or perhaps even cure - patients with diabetes, cardiomyocytes could be used to replace damaged heart tissue, chondrocytes could be used for arthritis, and neurons for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS and spinal cord injuries to name a few examples. There is also the possibility that these cells could be used to create more complex, vital organs, such as kidneys, livers, or even entire hearts. Some have suggested that adult stem cells may be sufficient to pursue all treatments for human disease. It is premature to conclude that adult stem cells have the same potential as embryonic stem cells -- and that potential will almost certainly vary from disease to disease. Current evidence suggests that adult stem cells have markedly restricted differentiation potential. Therefore, for disorders that prove not to be treatable with adult stem cells, impeding human pluripotent stem cell research risks unnecessary delay for millions of patients who may die or endure needless suffering while the effectiveness of adult stem cells is evaluated. The therapeutic promise of pluripotent stem cells is based on more than two decades of research in mice and other animal models. This research confirms that pluripotent stem cells are capable of generating all of the cell types of the body. Most importantly, the therapeutic potential of these cells has already been demonstrated. Cardiomyocytes generated in the laboratory from these cells have been transplanted into the hearts of dystrophic mice where they formed stable intracardiac grafts. Nerve cells have successfully reversed the progression of the equivalent of multiple sclerosis in mice and have restored function to the limbs of partially paralyzed rats; and insulin-secreting cells have normalized blood glucose in diabetic mice. These findings suggest that therapies using these cells may one day provide important new strategies for the treatment for a host of currently untreatable disorders. While we recognize the legitimate ethical issues raised by this research, it is important to understand that the cells being used in this research were destined to be discarded in any case. Under these circumstances, it would be tragic to waste this opportunity to pursue the work that could potentially alleviate human suffering. For the past 35 years many of the common human virus vaccines -- such as measles, rubella, hepatitis A, rabies and poliovirus -- have been produced in cells derived from a human fetus to the benefit of tens of millions of Americans. Thus precedent has been established for the use of fetal tissue that would otherwise be discarded. We urge you to allow research on pluripotent stem cells to continue with Federal support, so that the tremendous scientific and medical benefits of their use may one day become available to the millions of American patients who so desperately need them. Yours respectfully, Kenneth J. Arrow*, Stanford University Julius Axelrod*, National Institute of Mental Health, Education & Welfare Baruj Benacerraf*, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Paul Berg*, Stanford University J. Michael Bishop*, University of California, San Francisco Nicolaas Bloembergen*, Harvard University Herbert C. Brown*, Purdue University Jose Cibelli, Advanced Cell Technology Stanley Cohen*, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Leon N. Cooper*, Brown University E. J. Corey*, Harvard University James W. Cronin*, University of Chicago Robert Curl, Jr.*, Rice University Peter Doherty*, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Johann Deisenhofer*, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Reneto Dulbecco*, Salk Institute Edmond H. Fischer*, University of Washington Val L. Fitch*, Princeton University Robert Fogel*, University of Chicago Jerome I. Friedman*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Milton Friedman*, Hoover Institute Robert F. Furchgott*, State University of New York Health Sciences Center Murray Gell-Mann*, Santa Fe, NM Walter Gilbert*, Harvard University Alfred Gilman*, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center Donald Glaser*, University of California, Berkeley Sheldon Lee Glashow*, Boston University Ronald M. Green, Dartmouth College Paul Greengard*, The Rockefeller University Roger Guillemin*, The Salk Institute Leonard Hayflick, University of California, San Francisco Herbert A. Hauptman*, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research James J. Heckman*, University of Chicago Alan Heeger*, University of California, Santa Barbara Dudley Herschbach*, Harvard Medical School David H. Hubel*, Harvard Medical School Russell Hulse*, Plasma Physics Laboratory Eric Kandel*, Columbia University Jerome Karle*, Washington, D.C. Lawrence R. Klein*, University of Pennsylvania Walter Kohn*, University of California, Santa Barbara Arthur Kornberg*, Stanford University School of Medicine Edwin G. Krebs*, University of Washington Robert P. Lanza+, Advanced Cell Technology Robert Laughlin*, Stanford University Leon Lederman*, Illinois Institute of Technology David M. Lee*, Cornell University Edward Lewis*, California Institute of Technology William Lipscomb, Jr.*, Harvard University Rudolph A. Marcus*, California Institute of Technology Daniel McFadden*, University of California, Berkeley R. Bruce Merrifield*, The Rockefeller University Robert Merton*, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Franco Modigliani*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mario J. Molina*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ferid Murad*, University of Texas Medical School Marshall W. Nirenberg*, NIH National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute Douglass C. North*, Washington University George A. Olah*, University of Southern California Douglas Osheroff*, Stanford University George E. Palade*, University of California, San Diego Martin Perl*, Stanford University Norman F. Ramsey*, Harvard University Burton Richter*, Stanford University Richard J. Roberts*, New England Biolabs Paul A. Samuelson*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Melvin Schwartz*, Columbia University Phillip A. Sharp*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Richard E. Smalley*, Rice University Hamilton O. Smith*, Celera Genomics Robert M. Solow*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Horst Stormer*, Columbia University Henry Taube*, Stanford University Richard Taylor*, Stanford University E. Donnall Thomas*, University of Washington James Tobin*, Yale University Susumu Tonegawa*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Charles Townes*, University of California, Berkeley James D. Watson*, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Steven Weinberg*, University of Texas Thomas H. Weller*, Harvard School of Public Health Michael D. West+, Advanced Cell Technology Eric F. Wieschaus*, Princeton University Torsten N. Wiesel*, The Rockefeller University Robert W. Wilson*, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics * Nobel Laureate + Corresponding Author © 2001 The Washington Post Company http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37117-2001Feb21.html ***********