Skip to main content

Scientist Think Body's Own Cells May Solve Embryonic Stem-cell Debate

Robert Lanza, vice president of Advanced Cell Technology recently told MSNBC that new scientific advances in stem-cell research may put to rest the moral debate surrounding embryonic stem-cell research. His group is working on a way to reprogram existing cells to produce fresh cells.

The process, called somatic-cell programming, may prove to be able to tell the cells in your own body to produce fresh heart cells, regenerate nerve cells to heal spinal cord injuries -- even pancreatic cells to cure diabetes.

"Our group, and I know at least two or three others, are playing with different techniques, and it's very clear that something is going on here," Lanza said. "We're definitely getting reprogramming."

His company has often been the epicenter of the controversy over embryonic stem-cell research.

Leon Kass, chairman of the U.S. President's Council on Bioethics, said the research could give scientists new direction in the area of stem-cell research.

"I think that's where the gold is buried," Kass said. "(This is a) most exciting new development."

"Copyright (c) 2005, Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. This article appeared in CitizenLink Daily Update published Aug. 15, 2005, a policy and culture information service of Focus on the Family. For more information, see http://www.citizenlink.org."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Al Cardenas Comments on Univision Democrat Forum

Al Cardenas is Chairman of Romney for President's Hispanic Steering Committee. I got the following email from the campaign. Boston, MA – Al Cardenas, the Chairman of Romney for President's National Hispanic Steering Committee, issued the following statement regarding tonight's Democrat presidential forum on Univision: "Tonight's Univision forum demonstrated once again the consequences that a President Clinton, President Obama or President Edwards would have on the Hispanic community.  Whether it's tax increases for families and the two million Hispanic business owners, socialist-style health care, coddling dictators, opposing free trade with our allies or putting family values last, the Democrat presidential candidates made clear how out of sync their policies are with the best interests of the Hispanic community. Mitt Romney has put in the effort to reach out to this vital bloc, and, after watching tonight's debate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Harry Potter Mania -- Discussion

There is a great discussion going on at WorldMagBlog on the whole Harry Potter mania. Nothing to do with Latinos, I suppose, but I thought I would ad my two cents. A reader commented: I think its interesting how much people want to be in a group that is all connected by some common thread. It says a lot about our desire for homogeny, not always along racial, sexual or religious lines, but also simply based on what we do in our spare time. The interesting thing about Harry Potter fans vs. Star Trek fans is that a vast majority of them are kids who have grown up with the books, or the parents of said kids. I wonder if what sort of effects this will have on them as they get older (and whether or not they will remain HP fans). We live in an obsessive culture. Posted by David B. at July 22, 2005 07:54 AM This is an interesting phenomenon. I would think it is indicative of our society, more than anything else. I tend to agree with the idea that it shows a desire or need for communi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Communism: Good Money for the "El Viejo"

I guess Fidel Castro is doing ok . Forbes lists Castro as one of the richest in the world, right up there with the Queen of England. I bet he didn't like the attention. It was hard to figure it out, but it seems they managed to throw some numbers together. In the past, we have relied on a percentage of Cuba's gross domestic product to estimate Fidel Castro's fortune. This year we have used more traditional valuation methods, comparing state-owned assets Castro is assumed to control with comparable publicly traded companies. A reasonable discount was then applied to compensate for the obvious disclosure issues.
1 comment
Read more