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Stem-Cell Research Issue Continues To Divide Country By RAY WEISS - Staff Writer Last update: November 02, 2004 Embryonic stem-cell research is polarizing America as much as George Bush and John Kerry. And the issue has become just as political. Proponents see embryonic stem cells as a potential medical panacea, eventually curing everything from paralysis to Parkinson's disease. Opponents view using them as the destruction of human life, no different than abortion. The deaths of Ronald Reagan from Alzheimer's disease and Christopher Reeve from an illness compounded by his spinal-cord injury have brought embryonic -- as well as adult -- stem-cell research squarely into the public spotlight. So has a California initiative where voters Tuesday will decide whether to allocate $3 billion in state money for stem-cell research during the next decade, creating a potential snowball effect across the country. Scientists have studied embryonic human cells for six years and adult stem cells for several decades. Adult stem cells, often culled from bone marrow, appear to have more limitations. The embryonic variety, supporters argue, offer a potentially self-renewing source of cells that could cure numerous diseases and replace damaged or diseased tissue. But so far, while the science is encouraging, no one has been cured by embryonic stem cells. "It's a push for science without limits," said David Prentice of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., a conservative think tank. "There's a lot of hyperbole going on about embryonic stem cells that's seriously misleading patients. People are expecting cures right around the corner." No matter the outcome in California's election, the debate is sure to continue nationwide, ultimately affecting the health and lives of everyone. Prentice, who has a doctorate in biochemistry, supports adult stem- cell therapy, but opposes embryonic research on ethical and scientific grounds. "There's lots of claims but not much in published science," he said Stem Cells: Stem cells are unspecialized master cells that can create specialized cells, such as liver, skin, blood and other cells. · The three types are embryonic, adult and umbilical cord stem cells. · Stem cell research may lead to finding cures for diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and heart disease. · A bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia and other types of cancer is a type of adult stem cell therapy. · Stem cell research has been around almost as long as microscopes. In 1998, scientists learned how to isolate stem cells from human embryos and grow them in the laboratory. Before that time, they used mouse stem cells in their studies. · Embryonic stem cell research has become controversial because the harvesting of the cells from early stage embryos destroys the embryos. - Compiled by News Researcher Peggy Ellis SOURCES: National Institute of Health; Genetic Science Learning Center; Stanford Medicine Magazin The political and ethical divisions worsened in August 2001 when President Bush restricted federal funding beyond the 78 embryonic- stem-cell lines that already had been created. Scientists argued the actual number of suitable, regenerating lines was less than 25, which would seriously restrict research. Bush called his move a compromise, providing $35 million for research that could continue on cells gathered from the embryos. Kerry vows to provide more federal money, opening up more embryonic- stem-cell research. Meanwhile, states are as divided as the population on embryonic stem cell research. Thirty reportedly have considered almost 80 bills relating to stem cells this year. Only California and New Jersey have openly courted embryonic researchers. In Florida, no law has been passed prohibiting the laboratory study of embryonic stem cells. But research statewide mostly has involved adult stem cells. Without federal money, private research is limited nationwide on embryonic stem cells. Harvard University in March announced the creation of 17 new embryonic lines with the backing of the school, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. But supporters of embryonic stem cells say major inroads cannot be made without federal money. University of Florida's Bryon Petersen studies adult stem cells and has no ethical problems with the study of embryonic cells. He considers stopping consenting women from donating embryos absurd in a society where abortion is legal. "My position as a scientist is: Let science dictate the best avenue, rather than have a bias dictate the science," said Petersen, who has studied adult stem cells for 12 years. "It's shortsighted of anyone to say one is better than the other at this time." Petersen and his colleagues in Gainesville have restored normal blood sugar levels in diabetic mice for three months by chemically coaxing bone marrow cells to produce insulin, a hormone normally made in the pancreas. But he said that years of research remain before advances in the laboratory might ever result in cures for people. "What all the advocates need to do is let us figure out what's hope and what's hype," Petersen said. "People have to understand a lot of basic science must be done before we know how these cells work. We've just scratched the surface." 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