Cord Blood Stem Cells Information - For those who support embrionic stem cell research....?

For those who support embrionic stem cell research....?

Specifically, federally funded research, what do you think of this? The popular and appealing actor Michael J. Fox has taken to the airwaves in Senate battleground states Missouri, Maryland, and New Jersey with a highly misleading ad urging defeat of Republican Senatorial candidates opposing the use of taxpayer dollars to fund new embryonic stem cell line research. He states, "Stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.... But George Bush and Michael Steele would put limits on the most promising stem cell research." Mr. Fox and his ads' sponsors are guilty of conflating embryonic stem cell research, which the GOP candidates and many Americans oppose for destroying a human life in the name of curing other people's diseases, with stem cell research in general, which includes adult stem cell research and umbilical cord blood stem cell research. The only limits in question are on federal funding of new embryonic stem cell lines, requiring the sacrifice of new embryos. Private and state-funded research (California voters are spending six billion dollars borrowing money to fund this) is ongoing. The implicit claim that research based on new embryos is "the most promising" is absurd, completely unsupported by the scientific literature, and an insult to voters, based as it is on the assumption that they are incapable of understanding the issue. Too stupid to tell the difference, is the elitist assumption underlying this campaign. Flim-flam is a charitable description. Why would federally-funded research be more promising than state- and privately-funded research? And on what possible basis can the claim be made that embryonic stem cell research is more promising than adult stem cell research? The plain fact is that embryonic stem cell research is proving to be a bust. There are currently 72 therapies showing human benefits using adult stem cells and zero using embryonic stem cells. Scientifically-minded readers can review this medical journal article on the status of adult stem cell research. Adult stem cell therapies are already being advertised and promoted while no such treatments are even remotely in prospect for embryonic stem cell research. The fact is that adult stem cells have already produced remarkable cures, whereas embryonic stem cells have failed. This should come as no great surprise to anyone with a background in high school biology. When an embryo is created by the union of the sperm and egg, the cells begin to divide, creating embryonic stem cells from which all future tissues and organs are derived. Within days, the embryonic cells differentiate into three cell layers - ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Cells in these layers continue to differentiate into tissues and organs. As the embryo matures into a fetus, child, and adult, some undifferentiated cells of the three types remain in various tissues such as bone marrow, fat, skin and olfactory tissue. These adult stem cells are multipotent: they have the ability to turn into a variety of types of tissues. Successful stem cell therapies cause the DNA in the adult stem cells to further differentiate into more specific types of cells. There is no point in getting the adult stem cell to turn into a less differentiated type of cell, or using the more primitive embryonic stem cells. This would be going backward, in the opposite direction of providing a clinically useful therapy. Difficulties abound with proposed embryonic stem cell therapies. The growth of the more primitive embryonic stem cells is more difficult to control and leads to tumor formation. Recent research suggests brain tumors may result. Additionally, the use of embryonic tissue foreign to the patient can potentially lead to problems with immune rejection of tissue, a problem not encountered in using a patient's own adult stem cells. America is the most formidable medical research center in the world, but it is far from alone in pursuing the potential of adult stem cells. The worldwide effort is impressive and growing. For non-adult stem cell research, a morally unquestionable alternative source exists: stem cells drawn from umbilical cord blood. Already a bank exists in Dubai collecting cord blood stem cells. In short, the claims made in the Michael J. Fox political ads are false and reprehensible, an insult to the voters of Maryland, Missouri and New Jersey, and to all Americans. So far, not a single liberal has responded accuratly to the post. Rather than offer legitimate criticism of the content, they instead choose to engage in creating a stratwman. There is not one single case of beneficial embrionic stem cell research. There are benefits to umbylical and adult stem cell research. If you have to choose where to spend the money, why not develop those lines of research that have already reaped rewards? Also, let the marketplace determine the funding. let private enterprise fund the research. Just do not make the American tax payer fund what is now a scientific pipe dream with no field verifcation. If the private sector research shows promise, then the debate changes. But until embrionic stem cell can get results, it deserves not a dime of my money. When my mom died of liver failure, during her entire sickness, she never supported this research. Do not assume that having a liver disease makes one change their mind. For those that say I am lying, you are full of it. I have no problem with stem cell research. Stem cell research has had success, as I have stated. There is however not a single case of embrionic stem cell therapy having a positive effect or tropism. Fox lied about embrionic stem cell research. That is a fact. People fail to understand the difference between stem cell research and embrionic stem cell research. Read the literature on the subject and you will re-think your position, assuming that you are a rational person. Hell, even Bill Clinton's committee on cloning called called ebrioonic stem cell research the destruction of life.

Public Comments

Even before Michael J Fox, a favorite actor of millions, made his plea, I was supporting stem cell research. So the hoopla does not affect me
It's too early to knock sense into you right now..... ask this question again tonight.... and I'll have my gloves on :)
Thank you for putting forth the truth so well.
I guess they can say it is the "most promising" because adult stem cell research has already been proven to have positive benificial results, and embryonic is "very promising", or possibly benificial. It is very misleading, but what do you expect from the democrats?
When fetuses are aborted, and therefore going to be disposed of, then there is no reason why they cannot be used for research. It is called recycling. As for embryos, if they were taken from a woman and they are no longer wanted or needed, and therefore going to be disposed of, then again there is no reason why they cannot be used for research.
i support it for personal reasons. i think mr. fox is getting a bad rap but that's what ignorant conservatives do until they get a taste of their own medicine and then suddenly they liberalize themselves and try all they can to make the very thing they were against a possibility. why does it take the extreme before someone freaking understands? ignorance. i'm for stem cell... been for a while now. those who aren't well we'll wait and see when they're afflicted or someone they love is so much so that they need this so called evil... then we'll see.
I am impressed. Your question is one of the most well thought-out questions I have seen on Yahoo Answers yet. Thank you for sharing.
I think that research should be done whenever possible. As far as federal funding goes. Well we are spending many of billion of dollars in Iraq. It is a place where people are getting killed everyday with violence. So if we can spend money on killing people, why not spend some on helping people stay alive? Your questioned is based on opinions from a moral standpoint and when you believe life is formed. This issue should be decided by using the Constitution. Not the morality of the far right Conservatives or the far left liberals. This country needs moderation big time!!!!
What cures are you talking about? All I hear in your diatribe is right wing evangelical christian rhetoric. If the states and private entities wish to try and fund their own research, even better. The federal government is bending under the pressure of the christian lobbyists. As a voter I find it insulting that you think embryonic stem cell research funded by my tax dollars are a sham. To sum up, the feds should spend way more than they are to help stop some of these terrible diseases
Actually, the scientific literature says that embryonic stem cell research has the potential to be better then adult or umbilical cord. From Wikipedia: "Because of their unique combined abilities of unlimited expansion and pluripotency, embryonic stem cells are a potential source for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease." And the limits by the government is not only to funding, but also to the number of lines available to research. Also, the government and the majority of Americans support stem cell research. Also, from Wikipedia: "In May 2005, the House of Representatives voted 238-194 to loosen the limitations on federally funded embryonic stem-cell research — by allowing government-funded research on surplus frozen embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics to be used for stem cell research with the permission of donors — despite Bush's promise to veto the bill if passed." I will admit that they have a very clear agenda with these commercials. But I think that this issue is not fully understood by most people. And, unfortunately, negative attack ads and propaganda is sometimes the only way for an issue to be debated in a public forum. Everyone does this.
This isnt the first time that scientific advancement has been delayed because of misguided morality concerns. What do you think the dark ages were about? If conservatives won out, we could still believe the earth to be flat and that the universe revolves around the planet. We will never know the benefits of this emerging science unless we make a serious effort to encourage it. Improvements in health, longevity, the treatment of debilitating desease, and recovery from disabling conditions could result from this science. Unless, of course, we instead choose to believe the "Dr. Frankenstein" fears of conservatives who, for the sake of their interpretation of their personal religious beliefs, choose to rush us back into the dark ages once again. To quote Reagan: if not us who and if not now when...
if you have or live with someone who has one of these conditions and advocated a treatment that could help or possibly cure a life altering disabling disease- especially at a young age- you might understand.do not judge someone until you walk in their shoes.everyone has the right to achieve their goals to solve the problem and not sit back and criticize others for trying. last time i looked this was still a free country.
I am delighted to see hear that Fox is supporting stem cell research publicly. (And, you are either ignorant or lying to intentionally mislead and falsify an issue when you say that a human life must be destroyed in order to cure other people. I've seen the research and many of its applications that have been used for over ten years now. The rest of the world is leading the way in this wonderful new advancement in human comprehension of nature.)
You're right and experts have been saying this for years. The rose-colored glasses on people too lazy to research anything think stem cell research is a cure-all for eveything. Embryonic stem cell research has had no promising results. None. Nobody wants to hear that, so they immediately think the opposite is true. BTW - Wikipedia entries are made up by anyone who wants to add something. It is doubtful that any of those claims were made by scientists doing any of the research.
I believe we should allow stem cell research, as we allow body parts to become new hearts, new lives from liver or colons, why not start with the science that is virgin...if we have the knowledge to prove that a criminal, that has raped, or killed something from dna, why in the hell can't we take the same technolgy and allow life, or take what we have the tech to do and support new tech, how ignorant do we have to do....think about this, we allow life to be discontiued by a rifle..ie are own in war, but we don't allow something that will contiue life for those who are not at war, but those who want to live..how human are we as AMERICANS....go figure, we have almost become a hitler
In the 1800's candles looked more promising then light bulbs, they had hundreds of applications and were very successful. Of course light bulbs turned out to be a far more superior technology. Today adult stem cells have the appearance of being more successful because they were developed first and have gotten far more reserach dollars. However, they are just like candles, primitive and limited in applications. In a few months the first human trials will begin with embryonic stem cells and the illusion that embryonic stem cells have no applications will be shattered. There are hundreds of thousands of embryos that will be dropped into trash cans and be sent to the landfills. The moral travesty is discarding the cells that could be used to cure so many diseases that the inferior adult stem cells can't.