Stem cell tourist traps
For many years, people have been traveling thousands of miles and paying thousands of dollars to receive unregulated treatments that promise cures. The most recent manifestation of this is "stem cell tourism."
A recent article in Nature Reports Stem Cells by Bryn Nelson discusses international efforts to inform patients of the facts about clinics that offer undocumented stem cell therapies. The International Society for Stem Cell Research is asking for public comment on a set of guidelines that will provides governments with guidance about regulating stem cell therapies within their borders.
Snake Oil Stem Cell "Therapeutics"
Chances are that a few of our Google ads (to the left) are advertising
stem cell treatments. Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it
probably isn't. Here's an archive of cautionary commentaries.
Remember why: Videos: Proposition 71, CIRM spotlights on disease, and more.
News and Commentary Archive
May 8, 2009A History Lesson for Stem CellsBy: James M. Wilson
When
President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on 9 March 2009
rolling back the previous administration's restrictions on federal
funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, he took pains to
temper Americans' hopes for quick fixes. "At this moment, the full
promise of stem cell research remains unknown and it should not be
overstated," the president said. "I cannot guarantee that we will find
the treatments and cures we seek". Unfortunately, some stakeholders
in hESC research have failed to exhibit the same restraint, effectively
promising cures for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal
cord injuries, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis,
muscular dystrophy, macular degeneration, and hearing loss, to name a
few
...Read More
May 7, 2009
News in Brief: South Korea re-enters human stem-cell researchOn 29 April, South Korea's national bioethics committee conditionally approved a study using human eggs for stem-cell studies — the first such licence granted since a scandal unfolded over similar work by Korean researcher Woo Suk Hwang. A team at Cha General Hospital in Seoul will be permitted to create cloned human embryos using the eggs. The study's go ahead is dependent on four conditions: donors must give informed consent; research with human eggs should be minimized; an internal review board must oversee the experiments; and the study cannot be hyped by mention of possible clinical benefit. The research aims to establish stem-cell lines from the cloned embryos, for research and potentially for therapy. Hwang published claims to have done that in 2005, but in January 2006 his research was found to be fraudulent and his acquisition of human eggs unethical. He remains on trial for fraud, embezzlement and violation of the nation's bioethics law
…Read More
May 6, 2009The pendulum swung. President Barack Obama removes restrictions on stem-cell research, but are expectations now too high?Howard Wolinsky
Since
his inauguration on 20 January 2009, US President Barack Obama has been
busy reversing and dismantling many of his predecessor's decisions and
policies. Seven weeks into his presidency, he finally lifted the
controversial restraints on embryonic-stem-cell research that had
barred the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA) from
funding projects beyond using the 60 extant cell lines—only 21 of which
were viable. From the moment former President George W. Bush introduced
this legislation in August 2001, embryonic-stem-cell researchers had to
find other sources of funding to develop new lines
...Read More
May 5, 2009Reprogramming to pluripotency without genetic engineering: Researchers make iPS cells without inserting DNABy: Monya Baker
For
the first time, researchers have reprogrammed cells to pluripotency
without using DNA. Ever since Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in
Japan showed that cultured skin cells could be made to behave like
embryonic stem cells by inserting additional pluripotency genes,
researchers have been trying to find ways to avoid genetic engineering
as a reprogramming strategy. The additional genes make the cells less
predictable, more variable and more prone to undergo unwanted
proliferation. Even if DNA is not inserted into the cells, researchers
worry that undetected integration could occur and could change the
behaviour of those cells, limiting their use in cell therapy, drug
screening and disease modeling
...Read More
May 4, 2009Obama's stem cell moveBy: Heather B. Wood
Researchers
have welcomed the decision by Barack Obama to allow US federal funding
of human embryonic stem cell research. "The removal of a barrier that
has stood in our way for 8 years will open important new areas of
research, and move the field forward more rapidly," says Douglas
Melton, co-Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (Guardian, 9
March 2009). Melton plans to collaborate with publicly funded
scientists to develop treatments for conditions such as Parkinson
disease and Alzheimer disease
...Read MoreMay 1, 2009iPS cell technology gains momentum in drug discoveryBy: Sarah Webb
The
successful reprogramming of adult cells into induced pluripotent stem
(iPS) cells without viral vectors adds to the excitement about the
application of iPS cells in drug discovery and development. In
March 2009, researchers reported success in addressing one of the key
challenges in the application of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells:
reprogramming from adult specialized cells can now be achieved without
the use of viral vectors to deliver the transcription factors required. These methods avoid the potential
problem of viral vectors integrating into cells and causing
unpredictable genetic dysfunction
...Read MoreApril 30, 2009Stem-cell treatments for spinal-cord injury may be worth the riskBy: Jesse Owens
In
his Correspondence 'Caution urged in trial of stem cells to treat
spinal-cord injury' (Nature 458, 29; 2009), Yves Barde questions the
wisdom of testing oligodendrocyte precursors derived from embryonic
stem (ES) cells in patients, despite the promise that such cells hold
for repairing these injuries in rodents
...Read More
April 29, 2009
Japan cuts red tape holding up stem-cell workA Japanese science ministry committee announced a plan on April 22 to loosen regulations on research involving embryonic stem cells (ES cells). Scientists have complained about the current excessively bureaucratic system whereby they must seek permission for such work from a ministerial commission. The commission meets only rarely, and sometimes requests extra data from animal experiments to justify human research
...Read More
April 25, 2009Draft Stem Cell Guidelines Please Many, Disappoint SomeBy: Constance Holden and Jocelyn Kaiser
They
are not perfect, but they're a big improvement over what scientists
have been living with since 2001. That's how most feel about the draft
guidelines on human stem cell research released last week by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health (NIH). The proposed rules, to be
finalized this summer, will expand the number of human embryonic stem
(hES) cell lines available to researchers by eliminating the cutoff
date for cell lines that qualify for federal funding. Acting NIH
Director Raynard Kington predicted that "in a matter of months, we are
likely to increase greatly the number of human embryonic stem cell
lines eligible for federal funding." He said that NIH estimates up to
700 lines exist based on literature reviews and registries
...Read MoreApril 24, 2009 Fake Facebook pages spin web of deceit: Stem-cell scientists are caught up in fictional friend network — but no-one knows why.By: Lucas Laursen
In
September 2008, Forbes science editor Matthew Herper and former
Washington Post reporter Rick Weiss appeared together on a panel at the
World Stem Cell Summit in Madison, Wisconsin. In late February, Herper
received an invitation to 'friend' Weiss on the Internet
social-networking site Facebook. On the basis of their acquaintance,
Herper accepted, noticing that a number of other people involved with
stem cells were listed as friends on Weiss's profile. However, that
profile — and many of those it was linked to — was a fake
...Read More
April 23, 2009 Still strict on stem cellsBy: Meredith Wadman
Even some Bush-approved cell lines could be denied federal funding. US
stem-cell researchers are applauding draft guidelines released by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week to govern federally
funded research on human embryonic stem-cell lines. Some, however, say
the provisional rules are still too restrictive because they would
exclude lines derived from embryos created for research purposes
...Read More
News in Brief: US and Japan to collaborate on stem-cell technology
Rumours of a potential conflict over the exploitation of patents for induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technology were put to rest last week. IPS technology was pioneered in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka of Japan's Kyoto University. By early 2008, Kazuhiro Sakurada, who had also been working on iPS technologies at the Kobe-based drug company Bayer Yakuhin, left Japan to head research at iZumi Bio — a biotech firm focused on commercializing iPS technology in San Francisco, California. Last spring, Japanese newspapers warned that Sakurada might try to claim patent rights to the technology, which can turn ordinary cells into an embryonic-like state that could be useful for research and therapy (see Nature 453, 962–963; 2008)
...Read More
April 22, 2009Stem cells: Fast and furiousBy: Monya Baker
The
field of induced pluripotent stem cells has gone from standing start to
headlong rush in less than three years. Back in spring 2007, Shinya
Yamanaka thought he had a safe head start in a scientific race. Less
than six months earlier he had demonstrated a technique that turned
run-of-the-mill body cells into ones much like mouse embryonic stem
cells1. Yamanaka's results were met with awe and scepticism. Few
believed that a cell's identity was so flexible that the insertion of
just four embryonic genes could reprogram it into a cell that could
make virtually every body tissue
...Read More
April 17, 2009NIH announces draft stem-cell guidelines: US agency outlines framework for funding human embryonic stem-cell work.By: Meredith Wadman
The
National Institutes of Health today released a comprehensive set of
draft guidelines intended to govern federally funded human embryonic
stem cell research. The provisional rules were published 38 days after
President Barack Obama signed an executive order freeing up federal
money for research on hundreds of human embryonic stem cell lines
...Read MoreApril 15, 2009News in Brief: Genome Canada cancels stem-cell project fundingGenome Canada, a not-for-profit organization, has pulled its support for an international stem-cell consortium. The International Regulome Consortium, which involves 12 countries and aims to understand the regulatory networks that guide cell behaviour, expected Genome Canada to provide Can$20 million (US$16 million) over 5 years towards the Can$80-million project. Genome Canada's head Martin Godbout says that the organization decided not to continue its support after an interim review of the project's science, management and budget recommended substantial changes
…Read MoreApril 8, 2009Stem cells: Low-risk reprogrammingBy: Martin F. Pera
New
techniques circumvent a roadblock to the production of
embryonicstem-cell-like lines from adult tissue. Such reprogrammed cell
lines should be much safer to use for therapy
...Read More
April 7, 2009Multiple sclerosis: Stem cell transplants ameliorate neurological deficits in multiple sclerosisBy: Heather B. Wood
Hematopoietic
stem cell transplantation has been under investigation as a potential
treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) for over a decade, and several
studies have indicated that this treatment can stabilize neurological
disability in patients with this condition. Until now, however, little
evidence has suggested that this treatment can reverse the disease
process. In The Lancet Neurology, Richard Burt and colleagues at
Northwestern University, Chicago, USA, report that autologous,
non-myeloablative, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can improve
neurological deficits if performed during the relapsing–remitting phase
of MS
...Read MoreApril 5, 2009A stem cell ban is lifted, but some states see a heavy backlashBy: Kirsten Dorans
To
the cheers of biomedical researchers around the country, US President
Barack Obama lifted limitations on federal funding of embryonic stem
cell research on 9 March. Within the next few months, the US National
Institutes of Health will release guidelines outlining when and how
human stem cell research should be federally funded. As a result of
this move, US researchers will be able to apply for federal funding to
do research on an increased number of human embryonic stem cell lines.
However, as the federal government moves to promote embryonic stem cell
research, some states are considering new rules that could hinder such
work
...Read MoreApril 4, 2009Overcoming Opposition, Brazil Banks on Stem CellsBy: Marcelo Leite
SÃO
PAULO, BRAZIL--Despite vocal opposition from religious groups, the
Brazilian government has launched a major initiative in pluripotent
stem cell research. In the past 3 weeks, eight university labs in four
states started receiving the first payments of a 3-year, $9.3 million
grant intended to reshape them into Cell Technology Centers
...Read MoreApril 2, 2009Meet the inlaws: Embryonic stem cell derivatives meet the immune systemBy: William B Tabayoyong and Nicholas Zavazava
Since
the derivation of embryonic stem (ES) cell lines from human blastocysts
in 1998, ES cells have emerged as a potential source of cells and
tissues that could be used for cell replacement therapy of incurable
degenerative diseases. This is due to their remarkable pluripotency,
which enables them to differentiate into any adult cell type of the
three embryonal germ layers. Indeed, several groups have reported the
successful differentiation of ES cells into adult-type cell lineages
including, but not limited to: cardiomyocytes, hematopoietic cells,
hepatocytes, and neurons.
..Read More
April 1, 2009Talking Points on morality and human embryo researchMorality and human embryo researchBy: Thomas Baldwin
The
readers of EMBO reports will be familiar with the broad outlines of the
debate about whether it is morally acceptable to destroy human embryos
for the purposes of medical research. The Talking Point articles
published here exemplify the two sides of this debate: Robert George
and Patrick Lee argue that such research is inherently wrong, whereas
Thomas Douglas and Julian Savulescu contend that there are no sound
moral objections to it
...Read More
Embryonic human persons: Talking Point on morality and human embryo researchBy: Robert P. George & Patrick Lee
If,
as we believe, human embryos are human beings who deserve the same
basic respect we accord to human beings at later developmental stages,
then research that involves deliberately dismembering embryonic humans
in order to use their cells for the benefit of others is inherently
wrong
...Read More
Destroying unwanted embryos in researchBy: Thomas Douglas & Julian Savulescu
Some
of the human embryos generated by in vitro fertilization (IVF) are
treasured by the couples whose gametes were fused to create them; they
may fulfill the wish of the prospective parents to have a child. We call
these ‘wanted embryos’. It would be wrong to destroy such embryos in
research; however, not all embryos are wanted. We argue that it is,
with the consent of the parents, morally permissible to conduct
destructive research on embryos that are not wanted—perhaps because the
reproductive wish of the parents has been fulfilled or abandoned
...Read More
March 30, 2009Embryonic EducationEditorial
Now
that the US federal funding ban on human embryonic stem cells is
lifted, scientists must engage the public's concerns about embryo
research. When US President Barack Obama lifted the funding ban
for research on human embryonic stem cells earlier this month, he did
not mention the Dickey-Wicker amendment legislation that forbids the
use of federal funds for research that destroys or creates embryos. It
was a missed opportunity to begin a necessary conversation
...Read More
March 29, 2009Stem cell shifts: Skin cells are claimed as a new source of stem cells. By: Nigel Williams
President
Barack Obama announced this month, as he had promised on his campaign
trail, a lifting of the ban on federal funding for research on new
human embryonic stem cells. The former president, George Bush, blocked
the use of government money to fund research into any human embryonic
stem cells created after 9 August 2001. The decision forms part of
Obama’s pledge to make his administration’s support for science to be
freer from political interference. His decision is set to increase
international competition to create potentially clinically useful and
economically viable sources of human stem cells
...Read More
March 25, 2009Monitoring and Regulating Offshore Stem Cell ClinicsBy: Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Douglas Sipp
Traveling
to another country in the hope of finding a stem cell-based treatment
for a disease--"stem cell tourism"--has been the object of intense
scrutiny in recent years, following reports of charlatanry, baseless
claims, and adverse medical events. Providers of stem cell-based
interventions vary widely in their assertions about the conditions that
can be treated, the degree of improvement, and the cell types and
protocols used, but there are many advertisements for medical
procedures that have never been proven efficacious in appropriately
designed clinical trials
...Read More
March 24, 2009Australia:
Stem Cell Center Looks to Recast Itself in Supporting RoleBy: Elizabeth Finkel
MELBOURNE,
AUSTRALIA--The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC), a controversial
experiment in speeding the commercialization of stem cell research, is
slated for a radical overhaul. For the next 2 years, the center plans
to turn away from its much-criticized commercial focus and recharge its
research effort. Then in 2011, ASCC is likely to be transformed into an
outfit that provides technical and licensing support for stem cell
research
...Read More
March 23, 2009Obama Executive Order:
For Congress and NIH, Headaches Ahead on Stem CellsBy: Constance Holden
With
his long-awaited 9 March executive order lifting restrictions on
federal funding for stem cell research, President Barack Obama has
opened the door to some political fighting as nasty as any that has
been seen so far on the subject of research with human embryonic stem
(hES) cells
...Read More
March 21, 2009Prospects: Stem cell recruitsBy: Gene Russo
When
President Barack Obama lifted the ban on US federal funding of
embryonic stem-cell research on 9 March, he did more than make a
symbolic gesture in favour of advancing science; and he did more than
take a step towards long-touted (if not guaranteed) disease cures
...Read More
March 17, 2009China's policies on stem cell research: an opportunity for international collaborationsBy: Xi Jin, Lin Zheng, Ruo-heng Zheng & You-ming Li
The
Science & Society articles by Richard O. Hynes (US policies on
human embryonic stem cells. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 9, 993–997
(2008) and Robin Lovell-Badge (The regulation of human embryo and
stem-cell research in the United Kingdom. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol.
9, 998–1003 (2008) discuss the policies on human embryonic stem (ES)
cell research in the United States and the United Kingdom,
respectively
...Read More
March 13, 2009Stem cell clinical trials must be closely monitoredBy: Clive Svendsen
Results
of unregulated stem cell transplant were predictable and avoidable:
This commentary provides an expert perspective to an article published
in PLoS Medicine, which has been reported in Nature and Nature Reports
Stem Cells
...Read MoreHuman embryonic stem cells hit a nerveMonya Baker
Embryonic
stem cells differentiate readily toward neural cells in culture, but
most techniques to push them down this path still rely on undefined or
random factors. Either human embryonic stem cells are exposed to the
hotchpotch of secretions from neural-inducing cell cultures or they are
allowed to differentiate into embryoid bodies, from which the desired
cells must be extracted over multiple steps. Now, research led by
Lorenz Studer and Stuart Chambers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center in New York has shown that neural lineages can be induced
from human embryonic stem cells with over 80% efficiency using fully
defined conditions and without relying on inducing cells or embryoid
bodies
...Read MoreMarch 12, 2009Unregulated stem cell transplant causes tumoursBy: Monya Baker
Foetal
stem cells transplanted to a boy with a hereditary neurodegenerative
disease have grown into noncancerous tumours in his brain and spinal
cord. Though the poorly documented procedure did not occur as part of a
clinical trial, it marks the first reported case of a brain tumour
resulting from stem cell transplantation and highlights potential risks
of cell-based therapies
...Read More
Companies say clinical trials, product launches, coming up, seek investorsBy: Monya Baker
Enthusiasm
was more apparent than scepticism at the 4th Annual Stem Cell Summit,
organized by investor, analyst and stem cell fan Robin Young, head of
RRY Publications. This conference brought together a motley collection
of companies, both well-known and obscure, and each was given ten
minutes to tout themselves to potential investors and partners
...Read MoreMarch 11, 2009Geron gets green light for human trial of ES cell–derived productBy: Joe Alper
After
an eight-month delay, on 23 January, the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved the first human trials of embryonic stem
(hES) cells, a surprise decision that came on the eve of President
Barack Obama’s expected policy change concerning hES cell research
...Read More
March 10, 2009Obama reins in signing statementsThe Boston Globe
Rebuking
his predecessor for the second time yesterday, President Obama declared
that he will not use signing statements to disregard parts of laws
because he disagrees on policy grounds, but only when he strongly
believes provisions are unconstitutional. In a presidential
memo, Obama also ordered his top executive branch officials to seek
advice from Attorney General Eric Holder about whether to enforce the
hundreds of statements proffered by President George W. Bush
...Read MoreObama overturns stem-cell banBy: Erika Check Hayden (Nature)
President's
executive order will allow US human embryonic stem-cell research to
thrive at last. Scientists and research advocates worldwide are
celebrating the removal of rules limiting research on human embryonic
stem cells in the United States, which they say have restricted the
field's progress for seven and a half years
...Read MoreObama ends stem cell funding banBBC NEWS
US
President Barack Obama has lifted restrictions on federal funding for
research on new stem cell lines. Mr Obama signed an executive order in
a major reversal of US policy, pledging to "vigorously support" new
research. Ex-President George W Bush blocked the use of any government
money to fund research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001
...Read MoreObama Lifts Embryonic Stem Cell Research Ban, Spurring Blogger Debate Bloggers take on Obama's move on stem cells.By Andrew BurtToday,
President Obama signed an executive order overturning the federal
funding ban placed on embryonic stem cell research in 2001. Obama's
speech is available here. Needless to say, it didn't take long for
bloggers to take sides. Here's how bloggers handled the news
...Read More
Yesterday At The White HouseBy: Don C. Reed
Dear Stem Cell Research Advocate:
Yesterday,
being in the room when President Obama signed an executive order
reversing ideological restrictions on embryonic stem cell research was
an honor and a delight. But for my paralyzed son Roman Reed and all the
other patient advocates in the room, it meant so much more than that:
the White House is now squarely on the side of cure
...Read More
March 9, 2009
US President affirms support for research, signs Executive Order reversing limitations on human embryonic stem cell research
Commentary by Jeanne Loring
President Obama today lifted an eight-year-old restriction on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, signing an executive order that he called "an important step in advancing the cause of science in America." "We will vigorously support scientists who pursue this research," Obama said, "and we will aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may yield."
"In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama said during the signing ceremony. "In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research – and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."
The following Executive Order is eloquent on the subject. It was published in the Federal Register today- it reverses both the "statement" made by President George W. Bush on August 9, 2001, and President Bush's Executive Order of June 20, 2007 that required the NIH to create a "Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry" that would include non-ES cells.
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
REMOVING BARRIERS TO RESPONSIBLE SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN STEM CELLS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions. Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the research should be supported by Federal funds.
For the past 8 years, the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to fund and conduct human embryonic stem cell research has been limited by Presidential actions. The purpose of this order is to remove these limitations on scientific inquiry, to expand NIH support for the exploration of human stem cell research, and in so doing to enhance the contribution of America's scientists to important new discoveries and new therapies for the benefit of humankind.
Sec. 2. Research. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), through the Director of NIH, may support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research, to the extent permitted by law.
Sec. 3. Guidance. Within 120 days from the date of this order, the Secretary, through the Director of NIH, shall review existing NIH guidance and other widely recognized guidelines on human stem cell research, including provisions establishing appropriate safeguards, and issue new NIH guidance on such research that is consistent with this order. The Secretary, through NIH, shall review and update such guidance periodically, as appropriate.
Sec. 4. General Provisions.
(a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Sec. 5. Revocations.
(a) The Presidential statement of August 9, 2001, limiting Federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells, shall have no further effect as a statement of governmental policy.
(b) Executive Order 13435 of June 20, 2007, which supplements the August 9, 2001, statement on human embryonic stem cell research, is revoked.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 9, 2009.
March 9, 2009Obama Lifts Bush’s Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
WASHINGTON
— Pledging that his administration will "make scientific decisions
based on facts, not ideology," President Obama on Monday lifted the
Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem cell
research. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and
other news from Washington and around the nation
...Read MoreObama overturns Bush policy on stem cellsCNN-Washington
President
Obama signed an executive order Monday repealing a Bush-era policy that
limited federal tax dollars for embryonic stem cell research. Obama's
move overturns an order signed by President Bush in 2001 that barred
the National Institutes of Health from funding research on embryonic
stem cells beyond using 60 cell lines that existed at that time
...Read More
Transcript: Obama's Remarks on Stem Cell ResearchBy: Barrack Obama
Following is the transcript of President Obama's remarks, as provided by The White House: Today,
with the executive order I am about to sign, we will bring the change
that so many scientists and researchers, doctors and innovators,
patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for, these past
eight years: We will lift the ban on federal funding for promising
embryonic stem cell research. We will also vigorously
support scientists who pursue this research. And we will
aim for America to lead the world in the discoveries it one day may
yield
...Read More Obama Lifts Stem Cell Ban but Opens Debate on Embryo CreationBy: Bernadine Healy, M.D.
You
can still hear the popping of the champagne corks. President Obama,
surrounded by an exuberant and celebratory crowd peppered with notables
of all political persuasion, has lifted former President Bush's ban on
federal funding of research on human embryos for stem cell work. But
Obama's remarks left the door open for embryo research that involves
more than the frozen embryos left over from in vitro fertilization that
Congress and most of the public seem to support
...Read More
The Politics Behind Obama's Embryonic Stem Cell Research DecisionBy: Dan Gilgoff
President
Obama lifts restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell
research today, providing a moment to mull over the politics
of an
issue that typically plays second fiddle to abortion and gay marriage
in the nation's culture wars. I see four political forces shaping
today's White House action and the fallout
...Read More
News Analysis Rethink Stem Cells? Science Already HasBy: Nicholas Wade
With
soaring oratory, President Obama on Monday removed a substantial
practical nuisance that has long made life difficult for stem cell
researchers. He freed biomedical researchers using federal money (a
vast majority) to work on more than the small number of human embryonic
stem cell lines that were established before Aug. 9, 2001. In practical
terms, federally financed researchers will now find it easier to do a
particular category of stem cell experiments that, though still
important, has been somewhat eclipsed by new advances
...Read MorePresident Obama Reverses Bush's Stem Cell Research BanBy Kenneth R. Bazinet
WASHINGTON
– President Obama reversed a Bush administration order and vowed Monday
to "vigorously support" stem cell research that scientists hope will
lead to cures for deadly ailments like diabetes and Parkinson's
disease. "We will bring the change that so many scientists and
researchers, doctors and innovators, patients and loved ones have hoped
for and fought for these past eight years. We will lift the ban on
federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research," Obama said
to cheers at the White House
...Read More
March 8, 2009US stem cell climate improves, raising concerns elsewhereBy: Nayanah SivaThe
world's first clinical trial using embryonic stem cells has received
approval in the US, leaving experts in other countries to ponder
whether an improved climate for such research within the US will force
them to compete more fiercely to retain top scientists in this field. Just
three days after US President Barack Obama stood at his inauguration
and promised to "restore science to its rightful place," the country's
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the biotech company Geron
approval to conduct a stem cell trial in people with acute spinal
injury...Read More
Obama Is Leaving Some Stem Cell Issues to CongressBy: Sheryl Gay Stolberg
WASHINGTON
— While lifting the Bush administration’s restrictions on federally
financed human embryonic stem cell research, President Obama intends to
avoid the thorniest question in the debate: whether taxpayer dollars
should be used to experiment on embryos themselves, two senior
administration officials said Sunday. The officials, who provided
details of the announcement Mr. Obama will make Monday at the White
House, said the president would leave it to Congress to determine
whether the long-standing legislative ban on federal financing for
human embryo experiments should also be overturned
...Read More
March 7, 2009F.D.A. Approves a Stem Cell TrialBy: Andrew Pollack
In
a research milestone, the federal government will allow the world’s
first test in people of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem
cells. Federal drug regulators said that political
considerations had no role in the decision. Nevertheless, the move
coincided with the inauguration of President Obama, who has pledged to
remove some of the financing restrictions placed on the field by
President George W. Bush. The clearance of the clinical trial — of a
treatment for spinal cord injury — is to be announced Friday by Geron,
the biotechnology company that first applied to the Food and Drug
Administration to conduct the trial last March. The F.D.A. had first
said no, asking for more data
...Read MoreObama Stem Cell Decision Called 'Deadly Executive Order'
By Robert Roy Britt
President
Obama is expected on Monday to reverse limitations set by the Bush
administration for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The
expected move, hailed by many as science winning out over politics, is
seen as immoral by others, who believe that a human embryo deserves the
same moral and legal protection as any human life
...Read MoreMarch 4, 2009First FDA-approved embryonic stem cell trialGeron
Corporation announced the FDA approval of its investigational new drug
application (IND) for a Phase I trial of GRNOPC1 in patients with acute
spinal cord injury
...Read MoreMarch 1, 2009Virus-free pluripotency for human cells: Stem-cell advance could bring tailored treatments closer.By: Erika Check Hayden & Monya Baker
For
the first time, specialized human cells have been transformed into a
state similar to that seen in embryonic stem cells, without using
viruses. The advance edges stem-cell biologists closer to clearing a
barrier to using reprogrammed cells for therapies and drug screening.
"The field has been waiting for these papers," says Marie Csete, chief
scientific officer at the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine in San Francisco
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