soulxtc
August 23rd, 2006, 10:44 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Massachusetts company said on Wednesday it had developed a way to make human embryonic stem cells without harming the original embryo, a finding it said could dispel ethical objections to promising medical research using such cells.
"It is possible to generate stem cells without destroying the embryo and without destroying its potential for life," said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientist at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts.
President Bush last month vetoed an expansion of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, saying that U.S. taxpayers who object to such research should not have to pay for it. Opponents have a range of objections which include a distaste for manipulating or destroying what they see as a potential human life.
"It (the new finding) at least takes away the president's last excuse to oppose the research," Lanza, who led the company's research team, said in a telephone interview.
Stem cells are the body's master cells, available from many sources, but many experts believe the most powerful and versatile cells may be those taken from days-old embryos.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-08-23T172553Z_01_N23403167_RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-STEMCELLS.xml
http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2004/images/politi/Politi_fig1.jpg
"It is possible to generate stem cells without destroying the embryo and without destroying its potential for life," said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientist at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts.
President Bush last month vetoed an expansion of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, saying that U.S. taxpayers who object to such research should not have to pay for it. Opponents have a range of objections which include a distaste for manipulating or destroying what they see as a potential human life.
"It (the new finding) at least takes away the president's last excuse to oppose the research," Lanza, who led the company's research team, said in a telephone interview.
Stem cells are the body's master cells, available from many sources, but many experts believe the most powerful and versatile cells may be those taken from days-old embryos.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-08-23T172553Z_01_N23403167_RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-STEMCELLS.xml
http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2004/images/politi/Politi_fig1.jpg