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OPINION: Stem Cell Research Could Help Every Person Alive Today Norman Rosenberg - Special to the Bonanza The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, NV August 20, 2004 I am not a chemist, biologist, researcher, doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief. I am a concerned citizen who believes that too many decisions in the field of health are made either politically or religiously. That's wrong! For example: The Bush administration, bowing to the religious right, has thrown road blocks in the path of embryonic stem cell research despite the positive recommendations in favor of funding stem cell research by scientists not bound by religious beliefs or political party. What is stem cell therapy? It can be defined as a group of new technologies that rely on replacing diseased or disfunctional cells with healthy, functioning ones. Cells, which are the building blocks of the human body, compose the skin, muscles, bones and internal organs; they perform an almost endless variety of actions to sustain the body's tissues and organs. Will stem cell research work? I don't know. Many scientists don't know; but they believe it will. But if our scientists are not given the opportunity to try we will never know. We have been told by those who oppose embryonic stem cell research that the same results can be achieved from adult cells. Not true. Embryonic stem cells proliferate in culture. Adult stem cells are difficult to grow in the lab and their potential to reproduce diminishes with age. Indications are these embryonic stem cells have the ability to form any adult cell such as bone, muscle, liver or blood cells. The ability of these cells to grow human tissue means that such diseases as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease are potentially curable. Continued study of embryonic stem cells represents hope for those who now have or may have in the future such diseases as Alzheimer's, heart disease, stroke, spinal cord injuries and stroke. National Institute of Health Director Harold Varmus told a Senate hearing in 1998, "There is almost no realm of medicine that might not be touched by this innovation." As recently as last week Laura Bush said, "We don't even know that stem cell research will provide cures for anything - much less that cures are very close." This reflects President Bush's restrictive policies limiting stem cell research. In a terrific column on this delicate subject, Cynthia Tucker of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, commenting on Laura Bush's statement: "After all, the Wright Brothers could not have known their clumsy contraption would shrink the globe allowing wide ranging travel that has transformed whole cultures ... . They didn't even know if the darned thing would fly." Fifty-eight Senators joined Nancy Reagan in her call to the President to change his position. But the President still kowtows to the extremists. Even the British are now proposing almost unlimited funds for this type of research. That vocal group opposing stem cell research base their objection on their belief that as soon as a cell is fertilized it is a human being and that harvesting stem cells constitutes murder. This is nonsense. Pure bunk. Total hogwash. I believe the majority of the people in the United States would favor this research if they were given the complete unbiased story. One more quote from Cynthia Tucker's column: "And I certainly don't understand a 21st century superpower that devotes billions to building smart bombs to destroy life efficiently but refuses to fund the research that could save or enhance the lives of millions of its citizens." If you believe that stem cell research would benefit humanity by leading to cures for a wide range of diseases, then write to your Senators, and your Representatives, and ask them to twist President Bush's arm and change his position. Technical information from Stem Cell Research Foundation. http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/ Norman Rosenberg lives in Incline Village. SOURCE: The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, NV http://tinyurl.com/6ug6u * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn