2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
New, Moral Approach to Stem Cell Research
Andrew Sparks '09
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Commentary
You may have noticed the recent heated debate concerning embryonic stem cell research has been completely phased out of the mainstream media, whereas a few months ago it was constantly disputed. Strangely enough, this hushed silence coincided with a remarkable breakthrough in the field of stem cell research. Namely, last November, Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and James Thompson at the University of Wisconsin, as well as a team at UCLA, all managed to manipulate human skin cells so that those cells would retrace their development to a "non-commitant" cell. In other words, those reprogrammed cells, called "induced pluripotent stem cells," can then take on a variety of tissue types. Like embryonic and adult stem cells, these reprogrammed skin cells can be used to regenerate heart tissue, brain cells, and could even treat spinal injuries.
Moreover, as the Investor's Business Daily reports, because these cells are reprogrammed skin cells, there is already a genetic match to the patient (who donated the skin cells to begin with) thereby eliminating most, if not all, chances of rejection. This is a vast improvement over embryonic stem cells, which are not genetic matches and have been proven to oftentimes cause harmful tumors and fail to provide beneficial results in most studies. Also, embryonic stem cells are extremely limited in supply, and require destroying human embryos, cloning, or using human eggs to produce them. This means that using embryonic stem cells is not cost-efficient, nor does it produce results in the overwhelming majority of cases. Furthermore, the heinous means of producing embryonic stem cells is completely unacceptable on moral grounds. These new induced pluripotent stem cells do not require the destruction of a human life to produce, will not cause malignant side-effects, and are easy to gather.
The question then remains: With such a promising future in these new adult stem cells, why hasn't there been any major media coverage? Why don't we rechannel funds from embryonic stem cell research to this superior, morally acceptable research into pluripotent adult stem cells? Ideology alone is the reason for the absolute silence among main-stream media outlets, as this new development has far-reaching effects in the scientific, moral, and even political realms.
Moreover, as the Investor's Business Daily reports, because these cells are reprogrammed skin cells, there is already a genetic match to the patient (who donated the skin cells to begin with) thereby eliminating most, if not all, chances of rejection. This is a vast improvement over embryonic stem cells, which are not genetic matches and have been proven to oftentimes cause harmful tumors and fail to provide beneficial results in most studies. Also, embryonic stem cells are extremely limited in supply, and require destroying human embryos, cloning, or using human eggs to produce them. This means that using embryonic stem cells is not cost-efficient, nor does it produce results in the overwhelming majority of cases. Furthermore, the heinous means of producing embryonic stem cells is completely unacceptable on moral grounds. These new induced pluripotent stem cells do not require the destruction of a human life to produce, will not cause malignant side-effects, and are easy to gather.
The question then remains: With such a promising future in these new adult stem cells, why hasn't there been any major media coverage? Why don't we rechannel funds from embryonic stem cell research to this superior, morally acceptable research into pluripotent adult stem cells? Ideology alone is the reason for the absolute silence among main-stream media outlets, as this new development has far-reaching effects in the scientific, moral, and even political realms.
Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 10
John
posted 3/14/08 @ 9:05 AM EST
These so-called iPS cells "induced pluripotent cells" are proxies for human embryonic stem cells. First of all they differ dramatically in their gene expression patterns. (Continued…)
don margolis
don margolis
posted 3/14/08 @ 1:56 PM EST
To Mr. Sparks:
I am a Jewish man who started a stem cell company five years ago with the sole purpose of saving the lives of dying heart patients with adult stem cells (ASC). (Continued…)
sylvester_katt
posted 3/14/08 @ 3:32 PM EST
Not only ideology but also economics -- if diseases are automatically eliminated with any type of cellular endeavor, then the lousy big pharmaceutical corps lose a helluva lot of money. (Continued…)
Ivor Hughes
posted 3/15/08 @ 2:21 AM EST
Who,s body is it? Who owns the sundry bits that are lying around in jars of formaldehyde .. 50 year old skin or mucous membrane is not as it was in vibrant youth . (Continued…)
eduardo
posted 3/15/08 @ 5:35 PM EST
Most people are ignorant of stem cell research. The alarmists have scared the public in believing that all stem cells somehow come from aborted human embryoes. (Continued…)
John
posted 3/15/08 @ 9:04 PM EST
This is bad news for the pro-deathers. But don't worry. Since they are dancing with the devil, he will provide them a "plausible" argument to continue using babies' cells. (Continued…)
Christian
posted 3/16/08 @ 2:40 PM EST
I am the author of Miracle Stem Cell Heart Repair and the Wilde Stem Cell Research letter heralding the proven benefits of ASC research. Don Margolis an undisputed leader in adult cell research has pointed out some amazing facts. (Continued…)
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