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Actor Reeve: States will lead stem cell research By Alicia Ault WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - While the federal government continues to restrict research on stem cells taken from embryos, states are trying to create legal loopholes for scientists to continue what could be life-saving experiments, actor and activist Christopher Reeve said on Monday. So far, only California has passed a law that allows the use of state funds for research into harvesting and using stem cells from any source, including embryos. But other states are moving in that direction, Reeve said. "A half-dozen or more key states will lead the way," Reeve said in an interview after a briefing commemorating the fifth anniversary of the first isolation of human stem cell lines from embryos. Stem cells are the "master" cells of the body. They give rise to various different cells and tissues. Taken from very early embryos, they can form tissues of any type at all. Many scientists believe they have the potential to transform medicine, perhaps offering a way to tailor cures for diabetes, Parkinson's and injuries such as Reeve's crushed spinal cord. Opponents, including U.S. President George W. Bush, say it is wrong to use a human embryo in a medical experiment. Since August 2001, the federal government has forbidden the use of public funds for work with embryonic stem cells, with the exception of 11 batches created before the ban took effect. Critics say the ban has hurt research. Reeve said New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois all considered bills encouraging stem cell research this year. If passed, those bills would allow scientists to use state funds to conduct their stem cell research. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 71 bills have been introduced in 29 states. Most, however, would explicitly prohibit stem cell research. Legislators in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington have introduced bills to permit research. Reeve, paralyzed in a 1995 horseback riding accident, said his main interest is "to argue for unfettered scientific inquiry." While research has been stymied by the federal funding ban, it has not stopped, two stem cell pioneers said. University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Jamie Thomson, among the first to isolate embryonic cells, said his lab had shipped stem cell lines to 150 academic groups. John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University said major private donations allowed his group to forge ahead with experiments in animals. But without new cell lines, cures will be much further off, said Thomson, who called for a "national initiative comparable to the war on cancer" to push stem cell research forward. SOURCE: Reuters AlertNet, UK http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27411594.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn