Stem Cell Research – Controversy today, miracles tomorrow?
Taking effect today, President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding (through, for example, the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, major sources of federal scientific grants) on embryonic stem cell research for lines of stem cells not yet developed.
If you remember the debates on this issue eight years ago, George W. Bush tried to strike a compromise between two warring sides by allowing research on “pre-existing” lines of stem cells, perhaps trying to reconcile that any damage opponents to the research perceived would have already been done, while leaving scientists involved in the research some avenues to pursue.
No doubt with President Obama’s actions and the subsequent Congressional legislation to follow, the debate will resurface. However, hopefully one day the benefits of the research will far outweigh any concerns about the moral implications. As the Associated Press reports, recombinant DNA (the process of cutting and re-combining genetic sequences to produce novel chemicals) was highly controversial when first introduced in the 1970′s, but today is the major source of new pharmaceuticals. These drugs are “grown” in bacteria inserted with the genetic sequence for the chemical. Insulin, widely used to treat diabetes, was the first recombinant DNA drug introduced in 1982.
We can only hope that stem cell research can yield such miracles in the future for sufferers of afflictions as far ranging as Parkinson’s, liver damage, and paralysis.
If you’re looking for more info, have you checked out the Science Center’s new Cells exhibit that opened this spring? Many issues and up-to-date news on these and related topics are explored in this new hands-on area and the adjacent BodyLink update center.