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DELAWARE: Castle Shores Up Stem Cell Support Congressman, who sees Del. as ideal to further research, offers legislation By LARRY BIVINS / Gannett News Service SOURCE: The News Journal, DE WWWeb: http://tinyurl.com/5sk98 11/22/2004 WASHINGTON -- For Rep. Mike Castle, the logic for supporting embryonic stem cell research is basic: Nothing else holds as much promise for curing or preventing major diseases. That's why, Castle contends, California voters approved a state proposition to invest $3 billion in stem cell research, why New Jersey officials want to create a research institute and why the governor of Wisconsin recently announced plans to spend $750 million for stem cell study. While Castle doubts Delaware could duplicate those efforts, the former Republican governor believes the state could play at least a small role in advancing the research if the White House would loosen its policy. "There are a couple of things about Delaware that are a little bit unique that people don't realize," Castle said during an interview Friday. "One is, we have as many plain scientists as any place in the country. Secondly, we have the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, which is very active." President Bush's policy, established on Aug. 1, 2001, restricts the study of stem cells to 78 lines the president believed would be available at that time. Since then, lawmakers and researchers say, the number of available stem cell lines has shrunk to 19 - not a suitable quantity for effective research. Castle said if Bush expanded his guidelines, the state's biotech institute could compete for contracts through the National Institutes of Health. While the Delaware facility is now doing research on mice cells, Castle said there might be some smaller-scale research on stem cells that scientists in the state could do. "Who knows what Delaware Biotech might discover if given the opportunity," he said. David Weir, director of the Delaware institute, said he was unsure of the role the institute could play, but he agreed that the state has a bumper crop of scientific minds and could become fertile territory for embryonic stem cell research. "Delaware has 200 years of innovative research under its belt," he said. "It has a very scientifically informed population." The science of embryonic stem cells is still in its infancy. Researchers are excited about the possibilities because the cells can be split and replicated as specific types of cells, making them potential repair kits for sicknesses such as Lou Gehrig's disease, in which cells are damaged. Scientists say research so far suggests those cells could be replaced by cells created from embryos. More than 400,000 frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are available for the research. Unless used, they would be thrown out. Critics of embryonic stem cell research say using these embryos for research is tantamount to taking a life. They also worry about the possibility of cells being used for human cloning. Castle said he is opposed to human cloning, too, but has little fear that would happen if Bush changed his policy. Allowing the embryos to be discarded, Castle said, would be a big mistake because the research ultimately could affect millions of Americans. "Nobody is suggesting that the science is absolute," he said. "There are a lot of problems that need to be looked at. But if there's some real hope of actually preventing some of these diseases, or diminishing the impact of these diseases or curing diseases, my sense is you allow this to unfold and develop." Castle is the co-author of House legislation with Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., that would authorize a broader use of embryos for research. "There is great hope in this," he said, "and I don't think the science should be deterred based on the advancement we've seen so far." Castle's bill, which he and DeGette plan to introduce again after the new Congress convenes in January, has 190 co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle. While there is no Senate companion bill, 57 senators joined more than 200 House members in signing an April letter urging Bush to relax restrictions. In a Senate floor statement in June, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., summed up the sentiments of many supporters. "Continued studies using stem cell technology offer hope for a better future for millions of people afflicted with a wide range of illnesses and conditions," Biden said, "including Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer and others." That kind of support is encouraging to proponents of stem cell research, who say the more critics learn about the issue, the less likely they are to oppose it. "There is a growing awareness of the limitations of the current policy and a growing appetite on the Hill to try to expand that policy," said Sean Tipton, a spokesman for the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. David Dietz, who sits on the board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Delaware chapter, said the progress made already justifies expanding the effort. "The science is out," said Dietz, whose 10-year-old daughter, Allie, was diagnosed five years ago with Type 1 diabetes. "You can't put the toothpaste back in the bottle once it's out. If President Bush were to see fit to change his policy, you would see this science just blossom." SOURCE: The News Journal, DE WWWeb: http://tinyurl.com/5sk98 * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn