First Human Embryonic Stem Cell Study Approved 139
dogmatixpsych writes "The FDA recently approved a privately funded study where human embryonic stem cells will be transplanted into subjects with complete spinal cord injuries. All trials will be paid for and conducted by researchers working for Geron Corporation. The stem cells come from the existing lines Pres. Bush approved federal funding for in August 2001. With Barack Obama now president, many scientists believe federal funding will soon become available for embryonic stem cell research on new cell lines, resulting in additional similar studies."
Food nor Drug (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Another big corporate handout in the making. (Score:3, Interesting)
As someone who works in biological research I sort of agree with you. Not that we shouldn't be funding scientific research, but no one should be able to patent research done with public money. I like the NIH rule that any federally funded research must be published in an open access journal. I would argue for another rule, that any patents from federally funded research must be licensed freely, if granted at all.
Re:Shame (Score:3, Interesting)
No one is forcing anyone to stop researching promising treatments based on adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are good at some things, and they have produced successful treatments. Since we've produced successful treatments with adult stem cells, it stands to reason that we can also produce successful treatments with embryonic stem cells. It would be wrong of us to ignore those treatments and allow people to suffer unnecessarily.
Let me also mention that ALL stem cell research requires the destruction of life. A stem cell, whether embryonic or adult, is alive.
Re:Another big corporate handout in the making. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Food nor Drug (Score:1, Interesting)
Bush was actually right on this one, even if he didn't know why.
Re:Yay Obama! (Score:2, Interesting)