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U.S. Should Fund Stem Cell Study, New Survey Says (Update1) By John Lauerman Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- More than two-thirds of Americans said they want the new, Democratic-led Congress to expand embryonic stem cell research, restricted since 2001 by President George W. Bush. The shares of stem-cell companies surged. About 68 percent of respondents to a survey supported passage of a bill that would reverse the Bush restrictions within the first 100 hours of the new Congress, according to a poll sponsored by the Civil Society Institute in Washington. Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California are expected to introduce a bill tomorrow to roll back the limits, which ban U.S. funding for research on powerful new embryonic stem cell lines established since 2001. Support for a policy change is also strong among Republicans, Roman Catholics, evangelical Christians and other groups, the study said. ``It's broad, it's bipartisan and it's something everyone seems to be in favor of,'' said Graham Hueber, a senior researcher at Opinion Research Corporation, ``The makeup of who is supporting this research is changing.'' Bush used his first veto as president last July to strike down a bill that would have expanded stem cell research. The House has scheduled a vote on the new bill for Thursday. Desire for stem cell research is growing and spans demographic and political groups, said Gail Pressberg, a senior fellow at the institute. Support for the research has grown to 66 percent of Americans from 60 percent in a 2004 survey, and today supporters include 51 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of independent voters, the study said. Shares Rise Shares of Palo Alto, California-based StemCells Inc. jumped 45 cents, or 17 percent, to $3.11 at 4:30 p.m. in NASDAQ Stock Market composite trading. Advanced Cell Technology, of Alameda, California, rose 13 cents, or 24 percent, to 68 cents. Baltimore-based Osiris Therapeutics Inc. increased $1.43, of 6.2 percent, to $24.43, and Aastrom Biosciences Inc., based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, gained 15 cents, or 12 percent, to $1.39. Stem cells taken from human embryos have the potential to become any tissue or organ in the human body, offering the possibility to design treatments for degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and type 1 diabetes. The research, although promising, is controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryos, most of which are obtained from fertility clinics after they have not been used for pregnancies. California and New Jersey have tried to lure companies who work with embryonic stem cells with promises of state financial support for their research. Support is also growing among some religious groups whose members have equated the destruction of embryos with abortion and murder. In the study, 52 percent of evangelical Christians and 69 percent of Roman Catholics wanted the U.S. to expand its support of stem cell research. The Civil Society Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan research group that has periodically polled Americans on stem cell research for more than three years. The telephone survey questioned 1,036 men and women from Dec. 15-18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. To contact the reporter on this story: John Lauerman in Boston at [log in to unmask] . Last Updated: January 4, 2007 16:59 EST ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn