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Thanks for sending us this information, Tom. We want to hear the diversity of views on the subject of therapeutic cloning research. When "experts" disagree, it is difficult for lay persons to figure out where the truth lies. But we have got to try to separate fact from fiction, and promising biomedical research paths from ones that will turn out to be dead ends. I appreciate the work that James Robl, whose research is described below, is doing to advance the search for cures. He has been a pioneer in this domain. I'm not sure that he is quoted correctly below, however. In the past he has been a strong supporter of embryonic stem cell research. And in fact just about everyone who works in the domain of stem cell research views so-called "therapeutic cloning" reasearch (technically it's referred to as "somatic cell nuclear transfer" or SCNT) as an ethical and promising path that is worth exploring. Professor Catherine Verfaillie, for example, is famous for her research using adult stem cells. But she emphasizes that scientists need to explore all promising paths, and that embryonic stem cell research is certainly one of them. Last year, 40 Nobel Laureates issued a statement of support for this research -- they disagreee with the opinion expressed below that therapeutic cloning "is a great idea that just won't work." On the contrary, even with government opposition to this research, it is advancing, and we are beginning to see the enormous potential it holds for a deeper understanding of the genetic origins and inceptions of diseases processes. James Robl may have changed his mind, but this is what he himself has said in the past: "Embryonic stem cells hold the promise of providing an unlimited supply of cells that may be grown in the laboratory into virtually any type of tissue for transplant use." "[W]hen people make an argument for or against something the argument should be founded in facts and should be objective ... So far the arguments against cloning are ones that are more emotional -- not to say those aren't real concerns." You know, I wish that this domain of research -- which is our best hope for developing cures for diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, juvenile diabetes, etc. -- weren't so darned complicated. Just to understand what "somatic cell nuclear transfer" is requires considerable study. I am a volunteer with an organization "Seniors Allied for Biomedical Research" (http://www.sabr.us), and we are trying to make available some basic info. about stem cell research. You might visit our website, and click on "Stem Cell Research Sites" -- that will lead you to primers on what this research is all about. I've got another good idea. Plese go to www.sabr.us and click on "Portraits of Hope." (Or go directly to: http://www.sabr.us/portraits-nav.htm) If you haven't already sent us a portrait (a brief bio of a person with an illness that stem cell research might help to cure, plus a photograph), you're in luck. There is still time to do so! Best wishes to all, Raymond Barglow, Ph.D. **************************** Tom Berdine wrote: > > Cloning expert discusses work, offers views > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------- > http://www.gazettenet.com/02212003/five_col/3637.htm > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------- > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------- > By CHERYL B. WILSON, Staff Writer > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -------- > Friday, February 21, 2003 -- SOUTH HADLEY - Human cloning for > reproduction or for medical purposes raises too many ethical and > pragmatic questions, the man who cloned the first transgenic cows told a > standing-room-only crowd at Mount Holyoke College Thursday night. > "Most people would agree. Forget human cloning. We aren't going to do > it," said James Robl, president and chief scientific officer of Hematech > in South Dakota, who made international headlines in 1998 when his team > cloned the calves George and Charlie. > > Robl said therapeutic cloning for medical purposes "is a great idea that > just won't work." > > Ethical issues are overwhelming, including the rights of the embryo and > the rights of the cloned individual. "There is a repugnance factor about > human cloning," he said. > > "Cloning has more than a lion's share of controversy," Robl said. "We > need to distinguish the controversy from the reality. We have been so > focused on the controversy and on the approach that nobody has stepped > back. Can we engineer our way around it just using good science?" > > His company is working on a process to bypass cloning with controversial > embryonic stem cells, opposed by President George W. Bush, to create > human antibodies from a patient's own tissue. "Human embryonic stem > cells are a mess to work with anyway," Robl said. > > Robl, who was a professor at the University of Massachusetts for nearly > 15 years, works with UMass animal and veterinary science professor > Barbara Osborne and her husband, Richard Goldsby of Amherst College, at > Hematech. Many Hematech researchers are former UMass students. > > Robl said his work holds tremendous potential for medicine. Currently, > Hematech has a $3.3 million federal contract to develop antitoxins for > the botulinum neurotoxin, anthrax and smallpox. > > In a well-illustrated computer lecture, Robl described how the normal > process of mammalian reproduction can be altered in the laboratory to > change the genetics of the offspring. > > His work involves cow eggs and human skin cells. "We go to > slaughterhouses and bring back (cow) ovaries by the bucketful," he > explained. The eggs are extracted and fused with human skin cells that > have been genetically altered to produce certain antibodies. The embryo > is grown in the laboratory for a while before being implanted into the > uterus of another cow. After the calf is born, its milk or blood, which > contains the human antibodies, can be used to produce medicines to > combat conditions such as juvenile diabetes, ear infections, Parkinson's > disease, cancer and heart disease. > > Skin cells are used, he said, because "they are easy to grow, easy to > work with and have a full complement of DNA." He said, "The magic of > cloning is all the cells contain the exact same set of DNA." > > Cloning methods have developed over the past 20 years, beginning in > 1983. Robl said his lab in Amherst and the Scottish lab where Dolly the > sheep was cloned were working on the same goal using the same approach. > Dolly was cloned in 1997 and the twin cows in 1998. > > Dolly died earlier this month, leaving George and Charlie as the oldest > cloned mammals in the world. They are happily "out to pasture" in Robl's > South Dakota back yard and have shown no problems of obesity, which > affected Dolly, or other ailments, he said. > > Robl said he has serious doubts about the reputed cloning of human > babies the Raelian group, Clonaid, announced on New Year's Day. "Cloning > primates has not been done," he said. "Some people are more in this for > publicity than for true science," he said. > > Thursday afternoon, Robl spoke to the advanced cloning seminar at Mount > Holyoke taught by Rachel Fink, who said the 13 students were enthralled > by his presentation. > > Robl's lecture was the first in a series titled "The Political Embryo: > Reconceiving Human Reproduction," sponsored by the Weissman Center for > Leadership at Mount Holyoke. The next event is a panel discussion March > 6, "In Utero: Imaging and Imagining." Among the panelists will be > Rosamond Wolff Purcell, whose photographs of embryos are on view in the > lobby of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. > > Tom Berdine > President; Young Onset Parkinson's Association(YOPA) > www.yopa.org > Founder; YoungParkinsons.com > www.YoungParkinsons.com > > Diagnosed in 2000 @ 33 > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.455 / Virus Database: 255 - Release Date: 2/13/2003 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn