Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research | Adult Cells

Some of you might know that the State of California has a stem-cell institute (obviously for exploring the Pros of Stem Cell Research). But, as a state run institute, it is of course subject to the occasional audit from the state. It has come under criticism for being a little too liberal with it’s spending. The institute for stem cell research had very vague policies that led to abuse in travel and other expenses. These include chauffeured rental cars, lavish lunches, longer vacation and first-class airfare. They’re also under fire for not seeking competitive bids for services rendered to the research institute.

Honestly, I’m not sure how this affects the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research, but it could potentially affect the bureaucracy over policies for state run (or even federally managed) stem cell research institutes. It seems like theres always someone that does stupid stuff that makes everything more of a headache for everyone else.

I first read about the story here.

As I’ve been going around reading articles about stem cells I’m starting to get annoyed at all of the negative sentiments for politicians who don’t grant money for embryonic stem cell research. These sites pretend as if embryonic stem cells have a thousand times the promise as adult stem cells and that is just the governor, or the president who is opposed. What might surprise them is that all of their assumptions aren’t completely accurate. So, here are the two most common things that we hear about the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research, (In this case always on the Pros of Stem Cell Research) That aren’t true.

The first myth is that embryonic stem cell research carries significantly more promise than adult stem cells. That could not be more exaggerated. True, I will admit that it does have promise, but I wouldn’t say anymore that Adult Stem Cells. As I have said in countless other blogs, Adult Stem Cells are shocking scientists who are ecstatic about their new found abilities. These cites often disregard recent research about stem cells derived from amniotic fluid saying that it is “new and unproven.” Hello, we’re talking about research. If it’s not new and unproven then it’s not real research, it’s just a waste of money. Embryonic Stem Cells are also unproven, after-all, no successful treatments have been performed on humans with these cells, but there have been almost a hundred for adult stem cells. I agree that Embryonic Stem Cells likely have potential, but not a lot more.

And secondly, that Politicians who oppose Stem Cell Research are the only people who oppose it, and by maintaining their ridiculous stance they are killing people. Come on!!!! In most cases, these politicians were voted in by people who wouldn’t support embryonic stem cell research. If it was really that small of a minority don’t elect them. Simple as that. But in reality, while I won’t say an overwhelming majority of American’s agree with them, I do think it would be a mistake to refer to it as a big minority. Research, by nature is also a guess on what will work. A lot of great findings have been found from research that some didn’t think would go anywhere, and there have been a lot of studies that show a lot of potential that yielded no results. In fact, a lot of research really goes to those who show the best potential, that is really all we can analyze. I think that the Pros Side of the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research needs to settle down and stop reverting to name calling to try to make their point.

Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research

So a lot of us have either given or received blood from blood bank. The Red Cross and similar organizations literally gather thousands of pints of blood to give to those who have special needs. Many college students have even stayed alive by donating plasma. But, has anyone ever thought about a Public Umbilical Cord Bank?

Many new parents have heard about Umbilical Cord Blood Banking and Registries. But, it’s pretty expensive to do, so a lot of that blood just gets thrown away. The average cost right now is about $1500 with an annual fee of about $100. For those parents who don’t have as much money as they might want, they would probably rather put that in a college fund or the like. But, the government recently donated money for 6 banks to store public cord blood. The donor’s will wave their rights to using the blood and it will be used for a bank. This way, just like donating your blood, those who meet the given criteria can use your stem cells for their benefit. It is a really good idea. Preserving your cord blood costs a lot and you might never even use it. But this way when you need it, you should be able to get it, and every new child can donate without any real loss to themselves. A pretty cool idea if you ask me. This is a definite Pro in the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research.

George W. Bush is painted as a bad guy on almost half of the sites/and blogs that I visit regarding the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research. It seems that everyone in favor of embryonic stem cell research has decided that George W. Bush is the hater of science and has single handedly prevented any future breakthroughs in the scientific field.

While I would definately understand frustration on the part of those who support such research, I cannot completely understand their hatred. What annoys me the most is they always make the accusation that President Bush has “prevented the most promising of stem cell research.” Most promising? I agree that there is potential promise, but the only one that has yielded successful results is adult stem cells. They have had 72 successful treatments, compared to embryonic stem cells whopping 0. They have been used in so many things and many scientists say they are astonished at the new found capabalities of adult stem cells. They can be obtained from numerous parts of any one of us (which means obtaining them are cheaper). There are just so many things better about it. So I can see the frustration, but could one wonder “Did George W. Bush do Stem Cell Research a favor by diverting money to a more promising stem cell field?” The answer in my opinion is a resounding…..It would appear so.

So you think your an expert on stem cell research? You think you know about all of the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research? You must know everything, that we can get adult stem cells from hair follicles and umbilical cord blood. Well, for those of you who think that, and for those of you who don’t, try taking the stem cell research quiz. It’s a little over five minutes long, but I think it was pretty good. Leave a comment, let me know how you did.

It appears that there is a compromise in stem cell research. I was made aware of this via the scientific activist. He definitely would label himself in the pros of adult stem cell category. But, he is getting a graduate degree at Oxford in molecular biology, so he definately knows what he is talking about. Anyway, I quote from him, but this definitely has some implications for the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research Debate. He says:

“The technique involves removing a single cell from an eight-cell blastula and using this cell to derive a line of stem cells while allowing the remaining cells to grow and develop normally, without any apparent damage to the embryo. This was an interesting advance….”. He is not sure that he believes it works completely yet, but could it be a potential compromise to the stem cell debate? It definitely could be. The potential downside is that the new embryonic cell could theoretically become a human as well. So is using that for research killing a human (even if the other embryo develops into a human). So some I’m sure would still find this appealing, but it is indefinables an interesting idea, that could lead in part to a compromise in stem cell research.

I have been spending a lot of time looking around on blogs over the past few days. I found one which discussed the connection between science and the recent majority of Democrats in the house (the link is to the homepage, I couldn’t find the specific post later). Anyway, for those of you who are studying the Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Research, you should be aware that this has some big implications. The Bush administration, and the conservatives have been a leading cause in current regulation on how federal funds could be spent on Stem Cell Research. (That is not a critique, but it is true. Some will think that is good that they did it, others bad, but it is true). Anyway, if Democrats are able to push their agenda we will see a lot more money, and institutions, being dedicated to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Since the new house is not yet in place, we don’t really know the full implications, but we can rest assured, that the stem cell debate is far from over. Embryonic Stem Cell Research should be moving forward.

So get ready for the Stem Cell Debate to escalate.