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Stem Cell Debate May Be Far Ahead Of Science ... Bush And Kerry Attack Each Other On Research Stance By TODD ACKERMAN The Houston Chronicle Aug. 20, 2004, 1:52AM To Ron Reagan, stem cell research is "the future of medicine" — "magic," "your own personal biological repair kit standing by at the hospital." To his brother, Michael, the claims are "a campaign of disinformation" — "junk science at its worst." For the second time since President Bush took office, human embryonic stem cell research is at the center of a heated debate involving politics, science and religion. Hailed by some as a cure for fatal diseases, derided by others as the destruction of human life, the research has become the surprise issue of the 2004 presidential campaign. But some scientists worry that the stem cell talk is getting too far ahead of the science, which has turned out to be more complicated than scientists initially thought.. The jockeying started by the late President Reagan's sons earlier this summer flared up last week. John Kerry's campaign staged a series of high-profile events attacking Bush's position on embryonic stem cell research, and first lady Laura Bush lashed back, calling the criticism "ridiculous" and accusing proponents of overstating the potential. "I can't think of another technical scientific matter that's figured so prominently in a campaign except for perhaps the space program in the late 1960s and early 1970s," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "But those slogans that 'If we can land a man on the moon, we can afford (any number of things)' don't really compare to this campaign's talk about stem cells." Three years after Bush announced his compromise policy allowing limited research to go forward, it's not always easy to separate the reality from the politics and the hype. For all the talk about how stem cells will usher in a new era of "regenerative medicine," providing replacement parts for injured organs, researchers have not yet cured any disease or routinely turned embryo cells into specific adult cells. And Alzheimer's, the disease around which support for stem cell research grew after former President Reagan died, is not seen as a specific beneficiary. Because the affliction is so complicated, involving the loss of huge numbers and varieties of the brain's 100 billion nerve cells, other avenues of research are expected to provide therapies sooner. "There has been a lot of inordinate hype," said Terry Devitt, a spokesman for stem cell research at the University of Wisconsin, where the first human embryonic stem cells were isolated in 1998. "Basic science is a slow, expensive, painstaking process. It'll be at least a decade, I think, before stem cell advances make it to the clinic." Here's what is known: Embryonic stem cells, the biological building blocks of the body, are microscopic balls with the capacity to change into any of the more than 200 types of tissue or organs the body needs. Scientists want to take control of the process — at least in the lab. They work with stem cells derived from embryos left over from fertility clinics and kept in their immature state by biochemical controls. In August 2001, Bush agreed to allow, for the first time, the use of federal funds for studies of human embryonic stem cells. But because of ethical concerns — researchers must kill embryos to retrieve cells — he limited support to research on cell lines from embryos already destroyed by that date, less than two dozen. The limited number brought complaints from U.S. scientists who said the restriction tied their hands. But federal support, increased private efforts and research overseas allowed the field to take off. "I think that's one of the big differences now," said Dr. Leonard Zon, a Harvard Medical School professor and president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. "In 2001, there were a small number of embryonic stem cell researchers, each doing his or her work separately. Now, there are a lot of us, and we're a whole, united by an organization, in contact with each other, able to respond quickly to developments." They've also found ways to work around the federal restrictions. Major universities on the East and West coasts are establishing research centers using private and state money. California and New Jersey have allocated millions of dollars for embryonic stem cell work, and at least five other state legislatures (not Texas) are considering declarations of support. Privately funded research has led to the creation of at least 128 new self- replenishing lines of human embryonic stem cells since Bush announced his policy. Among them are at least 10 bearing the genetic signatures of diseases that scientists want to study. Advances since 2001 include the discovery last year of a "master gene" in embryonic stem cells, responsible for giving those cells unique regenerative and therapeutic potential. The gene could teach scientists how to give ordinary cells the ability to act like embryonic stem cells. Early this year, scientists in South Korea reported creating the world's first mature, cloned human embryo and from it isolated a colony of highly prized stem cells. If perfected, the technique could give doctors a way to create stem cells bearing a patient's own DNA, enabling them to transplant tissue grown from such cells with very little risk of rejection. But therapeutic cloning is controversial. For one, many worry its techniques could be used to make cloned babies. Other major research hurdles remain: coaxing stem cells to become a desired kind of tissue and making sure transplanted stem cells function the same in a human body as they do in the lab. Meanwhile, the latest research hasn't supported previous work that found some adult cells have therapeutic potential. "It all illustrates why serious science is not a proper subject for a campaign," said Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. "Complicated issues get distorted and end up on a bumper sticker." In any event, most scientists express confidence that embryonic stem cell research will yield fruit. The say the most promising targets are Parkinson's disease, which affects a small and specialized population of brain cells; type 1 diabetes, which is caused by the loss of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas; and spinal cord injuries, where a few crucial nerve cells die. [log in to unmask] SOME PROGRESS MADE Since President Bush announced the federal government would fund limited research on human embryonic stem cells in 2001, scientists have made a number of discoveries: • New lines : 128 new self-replenishing lines of human embryonic stem cells, 10 of them bearing the genetic signatures of diseases. • 'Master gene' : Responsible for giving embryonic stems their unique regenerative and therapeutic potential. • Cloned embryos : The creation of the world's first mature, cloned human embryos, from which a stem cell line was isolated. SOURCE: The Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/health/2747924 Reference: Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/282/5391/1145 NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/registry/ Californians for Stem Cell Research and Cures: Stem Cell Rebels http://cscrc.convio.net/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5239 Debate Around Current Restrictions On The Derivation Of New Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines http://www.isscr.org/public/debate.htm Stem Cell Master Gene Found http://www.worldhealth.net/p/416,1989.html The Cloning Milestones http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3406611.stm Human Embryo Created Through Cloning http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/11/25/human.embryo.clone/ The First Human Cloned Embryo http://tinyurl.com/57sjt * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn