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The Dallas Morning News Bush allows limited stem cell study http://www.dallasnews.com/science/health/440352_stem_10nat.html Bush's stem cell panel chief a valued, traditional scholar http://www.dallasnews.com/national/441132_kass_11nat.ART.html Europe won't finance cloning, stem cell studies, official says http://www.dallasnews.com/world/440489_eustem_10int.A.html Glossary of terms http://www.dallasnews.com/national/439908_stemcellglossary09e.html Harvesting cellular building blocks http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/080901_stem_flat.html Limits raise more stem cell questions http://www.dallasnews.com/national/441290_stemcell_11nat.html Live from the ranch: Bush brings decision from his home to yours http://www.dallasnews.com/national/440498_oval_10nat.ART.html Meeting with experts swayed Bush http://www.dallasnews.com/national/441131_decision_11nat.html Minimal fallout expected for Bush http://www.dallasnews.com/national/441274_bushright_11na.html Opinion http://www.dallasnews.com/editorial/ President Bush's address to the nation http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/stemcell.html Q & A http://www.dallasnews.com/national/439836_stemcellqa.html Ruling gives both sides something to gripe about http://www.dallasnews.com/national/440630_stempolitics_1.html Stem cell debate far from over http://www.dallasnews.com/national/442291_congress_12nat.html Stem cell testing may take years http://www.dallasnews.com/national/442299_stemcells_12na.html TDMN's David Jackson talks about the decision on TXCN http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/jackson.html TDMN's Carl Leubsdorf talks with TXCN about the decision http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/leubsdorf.html What is stem cell research? http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/080901stemcell.html What stem cells could help repair http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/081001stemcell_types.html Who's for and who's against http://www.dallasnews.com/popup/08100against_stem.html * * * Limits raise more stem cell questions Experts praise new tone but fear slowed progress 08/11/2001 By Carl T. Hall / San Francisco Chronicle Stem cell researchers face a thicket of new scientific and financial complications as a result of President Bush's decision to limit federal grants to research on existing colonies of stem cells. Scientists were greatly disappointed that the decision barred the use of tax dollars for projects involving newly created colonies, or cell lines. They questioned Mr. Bush's assertion that 60 self-sustaining cell lines exist. Progress in the field "will almost certainly be somewhat more limited because of the availability of limited cells," said Phillip A. Pizzo, dean of Stanford University's School of Medicine. He and others welcomed the general tone of Mr. Bush's announcement, noting that it marked a big change from his campaign statements indicating he would oppose all research in the field. The White House hopes the decision will defuse at least some of the ethical objections about the research, because it would not entail the destruction of an embryo. But scientists questioned whether the rule made sense. The problem is that only a few cell lines are widely used today, most notably from pioneering research labs at the University of Wisconsin and Johns Hopkins University. All of them were derived without federal funds through corporate-paid research programs. A cell line is a genetically identical colony of cells that can replicate indefinitely. All of them are derived from the same parent cells, which in turn are derived from an embryo destroyed in the process. As they divide, these cells produce more cells that, like themselves, have the capacity to become any of the hundreds of specialist cells found in muscle, bone, blood and the neural system. Each line is as genetically distinct as one person is from the next. Scientists believe stem cells from various sources, including adults, harbor enormous power as potential repair kits for people with degenerative diseases. But the curative power of any given cell or cell type is still anybody's guess. Cell-line uncertainties One issue that has scientists concerned is that, because this field of research is new, it is not clear how much embryonic stem cells change – and are able to maintain the integrity of the cell stem line. Mr. Bush's estimate of 60 cell lines now in existence also took many scientists aback. "The president seems to have information far different from that of the bulk of the medical community," said Dr. Michael Soules, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, in a written statement. "We were only aware of a very small number of stem-cell-derived tissue lines and cannot confirm the existence of the large number the president mentioned in his speech." "The 60 cell lines are news to me," said Dr. Eric Olson, whose research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas involves mouse stem cells. "It also is not clear what the quality and quantity of those [additional] lines are and how useful they might or might not be." Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson sought to clarify the number at a news conference Friday at the National Institutes of Health. "There's no doubt that news of the more than 60 stem cell lines surprised some, including those in the scientific community," Mr. Thompson said. "But you need to understand, no one had ever done a formal aggressive count until I asked NIH to do so a few weeks ago." Mr. Thompson said that the NIH had already begun creating a registry that would eventually list the cell lines and that grant money for studies would be available early next year. "Now that the president has made his decision, we can go forward," Mr. Thompson said. He added: "Make no mistake. This is a bold step." Mr. Thompson also declared Friday as the cutoff date for the registry. Any cell lines created after Aug. 9, 2001, he said, will not be eligible for inclusion. Assuming all 60 stem cell lines exist, Mr. Bush's decision to limit federal grants only to those cells means a potential windfall for the scientists controlling who gets access to them. And it raises questions about the fairest way to provide access to others. If the research ultimately yields commercial products and treatments, it's likely the originators of the stem cells – and their corporate sponsors – will expect a portion of the profits. Mr. Thompson acknowledged these problems. Because the universities and companies that have developed the cell lines have patents on them, he said, there are still "very strong proprietary and patent issues to work through." Perhaps more important, the restriction could block scientific progress if further research unearths problems in the existing cell lines or points to ways newly derived cells could be improved. Defects in some cell colonies have already been reported. Some of the existing cell lines were derived from embryos that were not of high enough quality to use in attempting a pregnancy through in vitro fertilization. These might harbor hidden defects, or could be limited in how long they can reproduce or whether they can mature into individual cell types. "We're still researching the question of how much potential any particular cell line would have," said Sue Shafer, assistant vice chancellor for research administration at the University of California at San Francisco. "So this means we're potentially limiting ourselves to using cell lines that won't be productive." Effect on private sector Fred Grinnell, director of the ethics program at UT Southwestern, noted that Mr. Bush could have declared a moratorium on stem cell research in the private sector. Instead, his decision could have the effect of encouraging the biotech industry to create new embryonic stem cell lines. "There is a kind of disconnect that I find extraordinary," he said of the decision to limit government funding to existing embryonic cell lines. "And that is that morality of the research is dependent on who pays for it." Once the existence of the new cell lines is confirmed, "there will be a rush to figure out how to get our hands on them," predicted Dr. William Brinkley, a cancer researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Despite some of the objections, most scientists said they welcomed Mr. Bush's new stance. "Considering the difficult positions he had to weigh, it appears to be quite a fair decision," said Timothy McCaffrey, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at George Washington University Medical Center who researches stem cells, taken from adults, in cardiac disease. "Obviously, as a scientist, you want as few restrictions on your work as possible," he said. "But this doesn't disable the field at all. Compared with being unable to use federal funds, period, for stem cell research, this is a big step forward." Even with the new rules, Mr. Bush's speech signals growing acceptance that at least some research use of human embryos is acceptable. That's why many experts believe stem cells are destined to become one of the hottest fields in biology – even though proven cures are still a long way off. Staff writers Sherry Jacobson and Nicole Stricker in Dallas; staff writer G. Robert Hillman in Washington; and the New York Times News Service contributed to this report. SOURCE: The Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/national/441290_stemcell_11nat.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn