Word: stemness
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...Much of the indignation on online message boards points to the efficacy of adult stem cells as an alternative to embryonic stem cells, with some even supporting the outlandish argument that stem cell advocates must be somehow connected to the abortion industry. Much of this reflects confusion over how adult stem cells work. Stem cell therapies focus on regrowing parts of the body, but adult stem cells are less versatile than embryonic stem cells since they can typically only grow into cell types found in the tissue where they originated. Many scientists hope that adult stem cells may be coaxed...
...It’s also important to note that the majority of Americans support expanding stem cell research. A recent Gallup poll found that only four in 10 Americans support further restrictions. Claims that Obama is pursuing the pet causes of liberal scientists against the wishes of most Americans are simply incorrect...
...However, the pro-stem cell contingent is also guilty of overblown rhetoric, not only for labeling the decision as a godsend but also for being too cavalier about procedures with legitimate ethical concerns. Stem cell advocates often make their case on the research’s life-saving potential, stressing the merit of destroying a five-day-old embryo to save a five-year-old girl. But this is an unfair comparison. Yes, the number of available stem cell lines will hopefully reach somewhere in the hundreds, but it will be 120 days before the NIH will even come...
...However, far more important than the stem cell decision was Obama’s memorandum to ensure openness about science and protect scientists, released at the same time. This marks a far greater departure from the Bush administration and cuts to the heart of the debate on many issues, such as conservation and global warming, in discounting the “false choice between science and moral values.” As I pointed out in an earlier column, the Bush administration was often directly antagonistic to concerns of scientists, allegedly editing releases about global warming, silencing a top climatologist...
...clashes with the president’s policies. Obama has already made good on this promise by issuing a memorandum that will restore a provision of the Endangered Species Act that requires federal agencies to consult the Fish and Wildlife Service before taking action on endangered species. Hopefully, the stem cell decision will be seen not as the end of morality in science policy, but as the beginning of an era where science is again taken seriously by the federal government...